An article worth reading if you are interested in how technology is being applied to help overcome short attention spans.
Now all you have to do is convince your audiences to wear them!
How are you using technology to engage with your audiences?
Archive for the 'Attention spans' Category
Based on a recent research report, three business goals that are best met through face-to-face gatherings:
1. Capturing attention
2. Inspiring a positive emotional climate
3. Building personal networks and relationships
Learn more with a summary of these findings at Corporate Meetings & Incentives or ask me for a copy of the original whitepaper.
For anyone who has run a meeting or given a presentation to a group, the sound of a mobile phone going off is one of those annoying but common interruptions. What can business presenters do to minimize these distractions?
This article will look at setting ground rules.
Ground Rules
Although you may never completely stop the use of mobile phones in larger meetings, you can let the audience know what the meeting’s expectations are. This can be done by the host or MC of the meeting, written on a flipchart or computer slide. A simple ground rule can reduce the number of distractions.
At the beginning of the presentation, take out your mobile phone, show it to the audience and ask them to switch it to vibrate or silent mode. Explain that when an important call is received, they should step outside the room to take the call.
Good presenters also take this opportunity to explain that the purpose of this ground rule is not to stop the audience conducting their important business but to show respect and politeness for the other audience members. This not only reduces resistance to your ground rule but also elevates the audience to a higher place where they show respect and courtesy for other participants.
Explain to the audience that there will be a ten minute break every hour, and so they can take calls and call back then. This will also reduce the need for immediate calls.
RESOURCE BOX
Warwick John Fahy is the international executive speech coach for senior executives, business leaders and entrepreneurs who need to influence clients, investors, shareholders and team members. His highly practical approach and deep cross cultural intelligence have made him a sought-after business presentation coach throughout the world.
Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter - 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. For free executive speaking tips visit http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog
For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.
Copyright 2010 Warwick John Fahy All rights reserved.
New product launches can cost your company millions of dollars from concept to launch. While many companies use rigorous product development processes they often skimp on the most public aspect – the product launch presentation. As product life cycles shorten, tangible differences with competitor narrow and margins become wafer-thin, an impactful presentation pitch can make the difference in cutting through the noise to attract and engage with clients, shareholders and media.
We can all learn from the master of product launches over several decades – Mr Steve Jobs. As the face of Apple, Jobs has launched products since 1984 using a high stakes, high pressure keynote address to large audiences of stakeholders and media. Three key lessons we can learn from Jobs are less is more, tagline with word pictures and rehearse rehearse rehearse.
Less is More
A Jobs presentation is intended to inform, educate and entertain. While most presentations focus on the first two objectives, only by being entertaining can you keep the attention of your audience fully during a 30 or 40 minute presentation. One way Jobs achieves this is with a very visual approach. He once said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” In his presentations, he mainly uses pictures with key slogans. Think of many presentations you have sat through recently. Chances are they were very data and text heavy. In Brain Rules, Mr John Medina reported how new studies have shown that text only information have a very low recall (10%) while adding visuals can push retention up to 65%. We have all heard the expression, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and now it’s been proved through these memory tests. Slides with thirty or forty words on it are not memorable. Let’s face it, you didn’t need a brain study to know this, did you? Take a look through your slide deck and see how many pictures you are using to express your message. Visit Slideshare.net to see a collection of visual presentations.
What else should a good product launch presentation have? Leave your comments and stay tuned for Part 2 shortly.
Warwick John Fahy is the international executive speech coach for senior executives, business leaders and entrepreneurs who need to influence clients, investors, shareholders and team members. His highly practical approach and deep cross cultural intelligence have made him a sought-after business presentation coach throughout the world.
Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter - 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. For free executive speaking tips visit http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog
For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.
Copyright 2010 Warwick John Fahy All rights reserved.
While I am coaching senior executives, I often mention that an audience’s attention span is around 10 minutes. This means that when you deliver a business presentation you need to continually engage and interact with the audience.
Here is an article in the Times of India that shows another reason why younger audiences’ suffer from short attention spans. Read more.
Meditation can improve your concentration
With the need to multi-task and sift through a never-ending flow of information, we have adapted - with the help of technology - to become more skillful at darting our attention spans from point to point. From an email, to the mobile phone, to a web site, to a download, to a conversation. And so on.
While this adaption is an important part of being productive in a digital information age, it also impacts our ability to focus on one thing for a long period of time. Switching attention between tasks reduces effectiveness and hampers our ability to get things done in one sitting.
I recently attending a workshop and received a 25 minute meditation recording which I use at the end of the day to relax, unwind and calm my mind. One thing that surprised me was how difficult it is to focus for the complete 25 minutes. While listening to the guided meditation (basically someone’s voice), I noticed that my mind was drifting onto other thoughts. Even after pulling my attention back to the recording, my mind kept darting onto other topics.
Gradually, the more I meditate with the recording the longer I am able to focus my attention entirely. As we continue to plough through life with our numerous distractions, it’s good to remember that we can also “work out” our concentration and focus from time to time. Turn off the devices and just relax for 25 minutes. Your mind and attention span will appreciate it.
5 minute presentations
I am sure you have all sat through many teeth-grindingly long presentations with 89 PowerPoint slides. But what if the presentation was only 5 minutes long, with 20 slides and each slide automatically rotated after 15 seconds. Sounds great!
There are a number of new events springing up which ‘force’ presenters to be concise. I think this is a great thing. It is much harder to be concise and still remain compelling, but the philosophy of The One Minute Presenter is just this. With today’s short-attention span audiences, it is becoming more and more important to be concise.
If you cannot get along to one of Ignite’s events (Wiki page) - try this method when you are preparing for your next presentation. It will help you deliver a to-the-point message and finish on time.
Understanding your audience is essential to successful business presentations. Especially if you are presenting to audiences with short attention spans. Digital natives are regarded as having less patience for (traditional) presentations, so what can you do to adapt yourself to your audience?
Well a clue lies in a school in England whose headmaster claim that all teenagers need a lie-in and that classes should start at 11am. The claim is based on the way the teenage body clock is functioning which results in students falling asleep in class. In tests so far memory has improved and received (not surprisingly) good response from the students.
While you may not be faced with a teenage audience, business audiences today are just as distracted and likely to tune out if you cannot capture their attention. If it’s within your control think about the timing of your presentation. Just after lunch most people are sluggish and likely to drift off. Later in the afternoon people’s brains become tired and attention spans drop off. Mid to late mornings usually work well for most audiences. Also, be aware of spacing your content so that you don’t overload your audience with information. Add breaks every 10 minutes or so to allow your message to digest and for a different format of presenting like a video, a story or an activity.
A great book on making clear presentations and with the right approach to communicating information to today’s busy and distracted audiences is Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. Garr also runs a fantastic blog here.
Have you tried to express yourself in just a few words. It can be difficult especially with complex issues. Today’s best communicators do it well. Obama captured the spirit of a nation with his “Yes, we can change”.
How well can you summarise your thoughts? A good web site for inspiration is “Six Word Stories’ .
Working to made your speech even more concise not only helps the audience understand and retain your messages. It’s fun. Think more like an advertiser. Yes, you can!
