How to keep the audience's attention after 15 minutes?

In English, "attention" requires "payment". So attention is actually considered a valuable currency. If the audience gives you attention, then they are rewarding you with what can be said to be the most valuable currency in the world.

Smis Wyeth & Co., president of Smis Wyeth & Co., an American executive development company dedicated to the science and art of speaking, recently shared 10 things that are guaranteed to get you more attention, but not Tips for losing your professional credibility.

1. Start with the unexpected

Start with a bang, not a whisper. Smokers love the moment when a match is struck, and audiences love a speech that piques their interest with its opening remarks. For example:

"We stand on a battlefield today, the worst war we saw and felt 40 years ago." - President Reagan of the United States

"I stand on your side today In front of me, on behalf of a grieving family, in front of a shocked world, and on behalf of a nation in mourning." - Diana's brother, Earl Spence

"I hope you have been here... ”—Patricia Fripp, CSP, former president of the National Speakers Association.

Each opening statement like this draws us forward, setting our ears to wonder what the speaker is going to say next. They jump into a theme and create suspense, complex plot, and curiosity. They capture the attention of people who are interested.

2. Make the speech about the audience.

Now that you’ve got your audience’s attention with a captivating opening line, it’s time to tell their story. Increase the you-me ratio in your content. Talk about their goals, their desires, their anxieties. Cicero, one of the greatest orators in world history, was also a Roman statesman. “Causing and soothing anxiety is a test of a speaker’s influence and skill.” What he means is that if you provide an audience with a felt need, a pain point, or a threat to their benefit, you’ve captured it. attention.

"Thinking Back by the Collar," is a 1968 commercial in which a housewife protects her husband from the catastrophe of loss of social status and career by wearing whiskey on his shirt. . Many people use FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) to sell their projects. A smattering of FUD gets our attention. Once you feel it, you will be breathless.

3. Be specific from the beginning.

Display a prop and use language that appeals to feelings. Don’t immediately overwhelm your audience with abstract reasoning or academic concepts. It's better to hide your intelligence than let everyone know about it. Storytelling is the most powerful way to get into a topic because we get information more easily through stories. Tell a good story and you will gain focused attention.

Sims once heard Robert Kennedy, Jr. speaking of protection on a boat on the Hudson River. He pointed to the inevitable beginning, "If you look in this direction, you will see this river channel, which has been the world's largest sturgeon spawning ground for millions of years."

Of course, when you look In the direction he pointed, there was nothing but gray and polluted water, and no sturgeons could be seen. But you can imagine millions of big fish densely packed on the river. You can walk on the backs of these fish to New Jersey. .

He just dug up data on the poor, declining Hudson River.

4. Keep moving forward

Not just based on speed, but based on development needs. Make sure that each new bit of information you provide builds on the information that came before. We lose interest in a movie when nothing happens, or when a writer spends two pages describing a pastoral scene, we stop reading the novel. Our brains are saying, "I want action! Drama, suspense." This is also true for your audience.

They are time-critical, content-driven, and results-oriented.

Imagine the difference between a river and a canal. While a river is dynamic and ever-changing, a canal is slow-flowing. To satisfy your audience's greed for change, make your speech like a river, not a canal. Make sure they always have something going on, and this is especially true when conducting online seminars, where your audience may be highly distracted.

5. Get to the point

The biggest pleasure for an audience is to quickly understand what you mean. When you take away this pleasure from them, they will hate you.

There is a speech advertisement by Seth Godin about why marketing technology products are so important that marketing is eliminated. When you watch the video, the first words out of Seth Godin's mouth are "Marketing technology products are so important that marketing is gone." It's a serious speech, like a bullet train, hitting the point directly. Points. Give the audience a single point of view, complete it as early as possible, and the audience will especially support you.

6. Arouse emotions

Humor is inherently persuasive. He gives the speaker an unfair advantage because it literally changes the mood in the room and the thinking of everyone present. If you're not a comedian, don't try to tell jokes. In a moment, just let your natural sense of humor express itself. When something comes to mind, let your humor express it.

Admitting personal things about yourself will also make your audience feel connected to you. Sims recently had a client who was a high-level executive in his company. During an important company meeting, she wanted her colleagues to admit that she had worked as a bartender, a taxi driver, and a caterer to pay for her college education. . The audience was surprised and excited, and she then led to her point that no matter what it costs, we can do more than we think we can if we put the will to do it. The executive said that one definition of courage is that actions are not commensurate with one's personality.

7. Stay interactive

Social scientists have shown that an interactive audience is more likely to be persuaded than a passive audience. In many settings, the give-and-take between speaker and audience breaks through the audience's reticence and reservations, encouraging them to interact with the speaker and play a role in the proceedings.

We see call and response traditional worship used in some churches. You will also see in schools and universities that an effective teacher, by asking questions, will open up and engage students who are precious with their words.

Of course, everyone has also witnessed the power of audience interaction in large-scale gatherings in Germany. When Hitler called "Sig," the soldiers replied, "Heil," raising their arms in a salute. This is a negative example because it is also a powerful reminder that it is not his skill but his moral purpose that makes a speaker a dangerous demagogue.

8. Write a clear title

Write a title for the slide that expresses a point. The audience will understand the big concepts and look at the topic of the slide for evidence that supports your point.

For example, "We are the market leader." is a better title than "Market Share." It's better because it implies action and is full of rational and emotional content. It can better capture the audience's rapt mentality.

9. Be brief

Stop talking before the audience stops listening. This mentality cannot absorb the intolerable content that follows.

10. You are the home court

On any stage, whether it is in a small conference room or a lifting podium in a large ballroom, a person appearing alone will be very profound. It brings instant, undivided attention. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "You speak so loudly that no one hears what you are saying."

Audiences understand everything the speaker does, they read your facial expressions, your Internal rhythm, your posture, voice and stance. In fact, the human brain attributes moral intent to physical cues that have the slightest hint of emotional expression.

The problem is that the human brain completes this in a few seconds, and it takes longer than that for you to say. Plus you're probably nervous and not at your best, so your technical skills at grabbing and retaining attention can make the difference between success and failure.

Every business presentation has numerous moments in which the audience has to work hard to catch the key points. Sims believes that when audiences find you and your content engaging, your presentation results and reputation will improve.

Speeches require practice, understanding your audience, adapting to their methods and psychology, and fully expressing the information you want them to know.