by Beth Levine | Oct 20, 2015 | preparing for a presentation, public speaking
You know the saying “life is short, eat dessert first,” right? Well, in my view, the communication equivalent is “attention spans are short, deliver the point first.”
Presentations are too often long and tedious – a phenomenon that has given rise to short presentation formats like TED Talks, Pechakucha, and Takahashi. Audiences cannot get enough of these nano-presentations.
But how do you get there? How do you deliver “really important stuff” in short order like that? The answer is: Regardless of whether you have 6, 18 or 60 minutes, you deliver the main point first. Yep, serve dessert first.
Attention spans are and always have been short. What makes grabbing and holding attention more difficult these days is that we face more competition for attention. Handheld devices haven’t necessarily shortened people’s attention spans, like you might think, but they have provided audience members with what is literally a handy diversion.
In order to grab and hold onto your audience’s attention, you must prioritize – in two ways:
1. First, prioritize by bringing only the most relevant and compelling material to the presentation; you cannot bring everything you know about your topic.
2. Second, prioritize by flipping typical chronology and delivering your conclusion before you present your evidence (serve dessert first). You can do this for the presentation overall, as well as for each section of your presentation.
Let’s deconstruct how we typically communicate: When we want to make a point we usually present all our evidence and then finish with a conclusion, our main point. What if we were to flip the order and reconstruct? How about if you were to present your main point – or conclusion – first and then back it up with your evidence? This way, you grab your audience’s attention and give them context for understanding where all the information fits and why it’s significant so they’ll continue to pay attention.
If we were to deconstruct even further and dig into the two elements we’ve been talking about – conclusion and evidence – we arrive at what I call the separation of messages and information. For this explanation, I often use fish as a metaphor and retention-boosting imagery – big fish and little fish. Messages are your conclusions; they convey value or significance. I like to call messages your “big fish.” Information is your evidence; it’s all the background, details, facts and data that support your big fish. I call information your “little fish.”
The culprit behind the tediousness of most presentations is the little fish. Too often there are too many of them and they are delivered first. This, of course, forces the audience to wait to find out why the little fish are even important and then causes your audience to distract themselves.
Do yourself and your audience a big favor: Do the work ahead of time to separate out your big fish from your little fish and then lead with your big fish (serve dessert first). Your big fish will grab your audience’s attention and not only will it give them a reason to hang in there with you but it also will give them something they can remember.
by Beth Levine | Jun 2, 2015 | preparing for a presentation, public speaking, smartmouth talks!
Your topic is set. Your time is limited. You know it’s all about them – your audience – because you’ve wisely adopted the principle of audience-centricity for yourself as a communicator.
So, when preparing yourself for a presentation, ultimately the question for you is this: Which end result do you prefer? Standing in front of a group and being comprehensive, saying everything you know and covering everything in your slide deck? Or being selective and targeted and saying something— even just one thing—that actually resonates with your listeners and sticks in their minds?
Which presenter are you?
It’s your call.
Either way, let me know what you decide.
[*Excerpted in part from Jock Talk: 5 Communication Principles for Leaders as Exemplified by Legends of the Sports World, www.jocktalkbook.com]
by Beth Levine | Apr 27, 2015 | preparing for a presentation
I have no advice to offer this week. I only have a question. What should we do about the issue of technology and presentations?
Let me tell you why I’m asking: Last week, I attended an event that featured 4 speakers, each of whom spoke for 8 minutes (ahem, there’s a brevity trend in our midst, I love it! #brevity #jocktalkbook). Each of the fours speakers was amazing. Their content was fresh, meaningful and tight, and everyone’s delivery was impeccable – they were poised, energetic, animated and kept their eyes on the audience at all times. Not a single flaw among the four.
But guess what? The technology failed and caused bumpy starts – followed by some fits and starts – for two of the four speakers.
I probably should mention before I go any further that the meeting was hosted and attended by technology professionals. Probably 100 of them, maybe more. Ergo, “user error” – or being unfamiliar with the equipment or software, as might happen with someone like me – can be scratched off the list of culprits.
So, here we are.
Technology fails. It does. And there are consequences. It wastes time. It dilutes the impact of a speaker’s opening. It forces an otherwise superstar speaker into an unexpected awkward moment. And perhaps worst of all, it causes the audience to roll their eyeballs (at least figuratively if not literally) and divert their attention to a side conversation or to their devices while they wait.
Ay caramba!, as Bart Simpson would say.
What should we do about this? It’s not even just a possibility that technology might fail, it’s more of a likelihood. We know this, don’t we? Yet we still bring our best stuff to a presentation on a flash drive or a laptop. The only thing I can think of is that we must be using some finely honed skills of denial, then holding our breath during set-up, and ultimately hoping for the best. I’m an optimist too, and that last sentence describes me too, but only sometimes. I have my own little over-compensation back-up plan. But not everyone does …
So what should we do about this? Visuals are awesome, but technology can be problematic – for speakers and their audiences. Thoughts? Ideas? Alternatives?
Weigh in, technology lovers!
by Beth Levine | Apr 1, 2015 | preparing for a presentation, public speaking
Being prepared is just about the most audience-centric thing you can do. It confers a sense of importance and value on your listeners. It shows respect for their time and is arguably the least you can do in exchange for their attentiveness to you as a speaker. Plus, it ensures that what you deliver is actually received. Preparation shows—as does a lack of preparation.
All too often, though, people resist preparing for a talk or a media interview. Clients have told me it feels egotistical or self- important to them, and they feel—or want to appear—more humble than that. In their minds, preparing a “speech”—whether that means welcoming remarks at an event, a thank-you for an award, or even an introduction for a speaker—feels bloated and unnecessary. Still, the principle from the first chapter of this book applies: “It’s all about them—it’s not about you!” You have a responsibility to deliver something of value to your audience, and the best way to do that is to be prepared.
When a speaker or presenter is prepared, the audience notices. The speaker is on point, and the message is clear and relevant to the audience. The prepared speaker doesn’t open with, “Well, I didn’t have time to prepare anything, so I hope you’ll bear with me.” Instead, the prepared speaker opens with an anecdote or an attention-grabbing factoid specific to that particular audience. Or the prepared speaker knows his or her desired outcome and puts it out there right up front.
There are many who speak or present in front of groups often enough that they feel it’s okay—and in fact, for some it feels more comfortable—to just “wing it.” Wingers are gamblers. Sometimes they win, but other times they lose. Since the outcome can go either way, you have to ask yourself if you can afford a loss. Or can you afford even to risk it? If speech prep were short enough and simple enough, would you devote just a few seconds to being prepared? I think anyone would.
[Excerpted from Jock Talk: 5 Communication Principles for Leaders as Exemplified by Legends of the Sports World, www.jocktalkbook.com]
by Beth Levine | Mar 4, 2015 | preparing for a presentation, public speaking, quote
There is considerable debate about attention spans and about the effects of the digital world and handheld devices. Interestingly enough, just a few decades ago, the debate focused on the effect that television was having on attention spans. Digital devices like smartphones and tablets are just the latest and greatest scapegoats. Whether they have or haven’t contributed to diminishing attention spans, it is certainly mind-boggling to realize that, with Twitter, full-bodied messages can be delivered in 140 characters or less.
The change in attention spans is often discussed in negative terms, as a deterioration in our ability to focus. But I think we have to ask ourselves, is this really a bad thing? I prefer to look at the phenomenon as a market disruption or correction that is forcing communications to adopt the often-touted corporate principles of leanness and efficiency. As companies try to increase engagement and productivity, improving communication—by cutting out waste—could be quite effective. Being brief and to the point may require a little extra effort, but it can accomplish a lot and save precious time.
Many studies have now measured adult attention spans— where they are and how they’ve changed over the years. There are reports suggesting that in just the last decade, the average adult attention span has shrunk from highs of twelve to eighteen minutes and to lows of three to five minutes, depending on the study’s focus and the environments of the participants. Some studies look at how long people can concentrate on a task; others look at their attentiveness while listening. Yet how long people can pay attention to a speaker depends on tremendous variables that can make it hard to measure: the comfort and conduciveness of the environment, the speaker’s voice quality and modulation, the actual content, whether there are effective visuals or good stories, what the objective is for the audience, and whether they understand that objective. The ability to focus is, afte r all, crucial to the achievement of an objective, so audience motivation levels can vary as well.
In addition, there are two types of attention: “transient attention,” which refers to a short-term stimulus that attracts or distracts attention; and “focused attention,” which refers to the attention given to a task or a speaker. Transient attention comes out pretty consistently at eight seconds, and we’ll address this a little later in the chapter. Focused attention is where much of the debate lies and is the type for which experts claim that attention spans are as short as five minutes and as long as twenty.
[Excerpted from Jock Talk: 5 Communication Principles for Leaders as Exemplified by Legends of the Sports World, http://amzn.to/1vkcxjz]
