The Myth of Short Attention Spans: What Really Holds an Audience
Bob Roitblat
Illuminating your path to innovative thinking, a future-proof mindset, and leadership prowess. | An international speaker & consultant. | TED Speaker | TV Villain
The idea that individuals have short attention spans often unfairly shifts responsibility away from communicators. In reality, people have a low tolerance for unengaging content. They are capable of deep focus given content that captivates, whether through enthralling narratives, interactive elements, or intriguing challenges.
Content that resonates and holds value can capture and maintain attention impressively. It's the content's allure, not the attention span's length, that matters.
Creators must embrace their role in capturing audiences. This means crafting stories with vibrant details, relatable experiences, and a delivery that pulses with life. In an age rife with distractions, it's up to the storyteller to weave a tale that not only informs but also fascinates.
Recognizing an audience's boredom threshold calls for empathetic and flexible communication. This approach champions audience-centric storytelling, ensuring that narratives are both engaging and respectful of the audience's preferences.
Ultimately, storytellers bear the mantle of refining their craft to resonate more deeply with their audience. Forgoing blame in favor of bettering our narrative artistry is key. Engage, don't just inform, to truly capture the essence of your audience's attention.
#AttentionSpan #Storytelling #Engagement #ContentCreation #AudienceEngagement
Advisor on business growth, marketing strategy, thought leadership, and digital. Author. CEO at Pinetree Advisors. Hall of Fame business speaker.
12 个月Bingo. I wrote an almost identical article on the topic. (Can’t help myself - here’s the link: https://www.randallcraig.com/social-attention-span/)
I connect people through content and conversation on stages around the world to their companies, communities or future business space as a conference speaker and facilitator
12 个月There's another angle here too. If you recognise that we live in a two-live-screen world now, as many do, we need to ensure we engage the audience on both, simultaneously. I like to do so by driving interaction with the audience on Mentimeter on their handheld, which relates to what I'm doing live and on the main screen. It works incredibly well!