10 Ways to Gain Greater Attention From Your Audience When Conducting a Presentation or Speech.

Some audiences are easier than others. I have also had some real tough ones. How you manage the energy of the room and your energy as a speaker can make all the difference in keeping them engaged and keeping their attention.

First let’s better understand attention.

This should be no surprise but It is said that the attention of the general population is now 7 seconds. This is one second less than a goldfish. Yup, depressing isn't it.

There are so many distractions in the environment, emotionally and physically that take their mind away from the current task, discussion or presentation at hand. When I poll audiences they say they feel distracted more than 50% of the time.

So how does that help you make an engaging  presentation? Well, here is the visual representation of the attention/retention curve and how and where people are most attentive in a presentation.

The chart shows that people's ability to remember is higher at the beginning of the presentation and at the end of the presentation. Many of the details get lost in the middle.

So you have to wow them in the beginning, change it up often in the middle and then wow them again at the end.

People recognize change. Change creates attention.

Think about it. You hear the murmur of the ventilation system when it goes ahead and when it goes off – however you don’t recognize it while it is running. You can utilize this normal human inclination as a strategy to recover your crowd's attention and engagement. 

The more you can create change in the presentation the more likely you are to maintain a higher level of attention. Here are many ways to change the interaction with audience.

1.    Change the visual medium: change from slides to flipchart and back once more

2.    Change the physical condition of the crowd: Change from sitting around a table to standing around a flipchart or in a circle for an activity.

3.    Change the area of the room that you speak from: Move from the front to the back, from center to left or right, walk around the audience.

4.    Change the interaction: Shift from the audience tuning in to you to talking about an issue to them listening to their neighbor. You can always have the audience stand up and high five each other as an energy boost for the room

5.    Change speaker by inviting audience: When you ask for feedback, people give their attention because they may be nervous and don't want to be called on or are anxious to participate, either way-it is attention.

6.    Change themes / topics: The shift in topic starts the discussion new and has people more attentive.

7.    Change tone, pitch or pace: Animation of this type often keeps people's attention because your energy is shifting and in return they will shift - you are the energy source for the room.

8.    Change from speaking to them to asking questions: Just like asking for feedback question even if they are rhetorical put people into a different state of mind from listening to activated thinking.

9.    Change the delivery medium from a fact to a story: Stats and facts spark interest but it needs to be combined with something personable and relatable to keep their attention.

10.  Change mood by adding music: We all know the power of music. Ina . movie the scene with music can create a biological change by creating goosebumps. Use music where possible to enhance or change the mood and energy of the audience.

By creating change throughout your presentation and adding interim summaries of what you want people to remember – you will raise their level of attention and as a result the retention of the content presented.

All of this change can seem overwhelming looking at the list but you may already to many of these techniques. Look into adding some new techniques and when you see your audience energy is dipping change it up!

I share this article out of experience. I have had some challenging audiences that taught me how to be a stronger force in front of the room. It is from hundreds of presentations that I learn how to manage the energy of the room. I was just awarded the Rising Star award as Top Speaker of the year from Gigmasters speakers platform.

When you have an upcoming client, sales, leadership, all staff event and would rather hire a speaker rather than speak yourself - please contact me to see how I can customize and engaging talk that meets your objectives.