The More You Talk, The Less They Care

Most meetings are a waste of time.

They're time suckers, filled with long-winded, unfocused and forgettable rambling and bits of information. Which, by the way, often get you no closer to the goal than you were when you started.

Before we continue, let's quickly establish that time is a commodity. With so many people and things competing for our attention in the "always-on" connected world, if you can't grab attention, you lose it.

Why is it so hard to get someone's attention?

1. The average person receives 304 emails per week
2. People check their phones 150 times per day
3. The average attention span is 8.25 seconds

As a result, everyone expects life to go faster - the line at the grocery store, paying bills, receiving an Amazon order. To get your ideas across in this information overload, you'll need to make your point quickly.

How do you get to the point quickly?

Speak in attention-grabbing headlines. Instead of slowly building up to your point, say your point and THEN provide background information.

That's what Steve Jobs did. When he introduced the world to the iPhone, the press release simply read: Today Apple Reinvents the Phone.

It didn't say, "Apple Debuts Smartphone to Compete with BlackBerry, Palm Treo...etc."

Headlines are effective because they quickly allow people to judge whether they are interested in hearing about the topic of the conversation.

What are some of the obstacles?

• Expertise — When someone considers themselves an expert on a topic they can get stuck on technicalities and over-detailed explanations. This defeats the purpose because we seek experts for advice.
• Disorganization — When someone hasn't prepared their thoughts, they could end up thinking aloud. While your brain is making connections at light-speed, your mouth could be losing your audience.
• Comfort — Too much is often said in familiar company. That "you got a second?" at work sometimes turns into a 30-minute chat about clients, projects or that wedding happening on the weekend.

What are some strategies for brief impact?

First, you need to understand the way people listen in order to know how to present information. Here are the 4 types of listeners:

1. Time-oriented: These listeners function on efficiency, so you need to hook them fast. They don't want to know the whole story; they just want to know the important parts and what they mean. Be specific and concise.
2. Action-oriented: These listeners are the second people you need to hook, or they stop paying attention. They are focused on solving problems, so they seek to know what needs to happen, how will it get done, and who will do them when.
3. Content-oriented: This is the third group you need to hook quickly. They focus on what is being said and prefer credible sources. They think about concepts from several different perspectives and want to know the facts and evidence vs the opinions and speculations.
4. People-oriented: They love stories, and don't care if they're long. This group focuses mostly on the feelings of other people and the relationships in mind. Use illustrations, humor and anecdotes as much as possible. Ditch the statistics.

Second, you need to know how these listeners process information. To quickly order your story, presentation or meeting in a way that will catch all these groups simultaneously (if that's the case), follow these questions:

1. Why is it important to them?
   
2. What is it?
3. How is it done?
4. What do I have to do next, with who and where?

When concluding, summarize what you've presented and outline the next steps on the timeline: If we ____, we can ____.

Third, keep in mind the people in the room. You can probably notice some similarities with the four basic types of listeners, but here are their personality types:

• Dominance — Person places emphasis on accomplishing results, the bottom line and confidence. They see the big  picture, can be blunt, accept challenges and often get straight to the point.
• Influence — Person places emphasis on influencing or persuading others, openness and relationships. They often show enthusiasm, are optimistic, enjoy collaboration and hate to be ignored.
• Steadiness — Person places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity and dependability. They don't like to be rushed, act in a calm manner and approach, are supportive of others and often operate with humility.
• Conscientiousness — Person places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise and competency. They enjoy independence, possess objective reasoning, crave details and sometimes fear being wrong.

Last but not least, when telling a story you should focus on a few checkpoints or benchmarks in order to move the story arc forward. Here's a sample technique for a 5-minute story.

• 15 seconds: Headline (Grabs attention, states topic)
• 15 seconds: Give a preview of the problem (Explains what you're solving)
• 1 minute 15 seconds: Comical introduction of main character (Makes audience like the main character)
• 1 minute 15 seconds: Introduce the problem (Makes audience identify with the problem)
• 1 minute 15 seconds: Insinuate the solution (Makes audience identify your solution)
• 45 seconds: Summarize and reiterate headline (Offers recaps and wraps story up where it first started)

Conclusion

The world is full of distractions. Meetings and emails can often be a huge waste of time, but they don't have to be. By understanding the playing field and becoming aware of the obstacles, you can transform your communication skills by giving them direction and meaning.

**Have a few tips? I'd love to hear them! Drop a comment with any tips or opinions you have to improve communication.

-

Eduardo Lopez is a digital strategist focusing on bridging the gap between social psychology and marketing. He helps brands create content that increases traffic and conversions. Before working in marketing, Eduardo spent two years researching social cues and coercion in a social psychology laboratory. 

Follow him on Twitter @NomadStrategist.