Grab attention… and keep it!

“Communicate, communicate and communicate again…” This advice is formulated as one of the keys to success in multiple areas, from the mobilization around a project to sales development, including the day-to-day management of organizations and the leadership of change programs.

But what good is communicating if those you are addressing don’t pay attention to your message? Capturing attention has become particularly challenging. In today’s hyper-connected world, we are constantly subjected to multiple requests. Not only is it impossible to consider them all, but they represent innumerable opportunities to “zap” to something else, extinguishing the tenuous flicker of attention paid to them in the first place. Incoming email and text message alerts immediately distract us with the promise of new information, often even as we participate in an interview, attend a meeting, or listen to a presentation. A number of studies converge on the extent of this phenomenon. We check our phone several dozen times a day—over a hundred times according to some surveys! On average, we fall prey to distractions every three minutes. Our difficulty staying focused on one activity is coupled with a growing lack of patience. For example, one out of four internet users will leave a web page if it fails to load within four seconds.

In this context of excessive demand, it has become a real challenge to promote ideas, move projects forward or win new customers. The first obstacle to overcome is often quite simply being noticed. What can you do to ensure your messages are read or that the ideas you raise in a meeting will spark interest? Maintaining this attention then rapidly becomes the next hurdle. How can you incite people to listen to your presentation rather than discreetly consult their mobile phone? How do you persuade your colleagues to respond to successive requests concerning your project? It is more critical than ever to understand the approaches for attracting and maintaining attention. When conducting the battle for this scare resource, be sure to put all the odds on your side!

In this synopsis:
- Attract attention to your ideas, offers or projects
- Maintain interest over time
- Grab and hold the interest of your audience