How to get an Audiences Attention

A trainer dryly discussing how to motivate people in an organization basically has just another "point-by-point" presentation. But suppose that he mounts the podium and begins to speak. Suddenly, a phone on the lectern rings. He ignores it at first, trying to continue. Finally he gives up, excuses himself and answers it. It is an engineer (off-stage voice) with a series of questions relating to the organization and the lecture topic. Although the presenter protests that this is "highly irregular," the offstage voice indicates that the issues are pressing and must be answered on the spot (while visual support flashes on the screen). Humor meaningful to the audience may be injected, such as, "Why aren't you at the meeting?" The lecture time is up, the presentation time has been used, and the presenter complains he "never got a chance to talk to the audience." But the audience members have received the information that the trainer had come to share with them, and in an attention-getting way.

Being a trainer, it is very important to capture the attention of an audience. There are many ways of using an audience's natural curiosity to do so, ranging from hinting, to a "surprise," to out and out staging. Innovation and creativity are the catchwords here. Covered material, a wrapped package even silence or blank space might sometimes be used. Suppose, for example, that a series of slides were flashed on a screen in absolute silence-pictures of several product applications, then some competitive equipment, then a customer, then an engineer at his drawing board. No sound or speech. A desired momentary or prolonged audience response during this part of the presentation might well be something like, "What's going on here?" "Somebody fouled up...forgot the sound." Curiosity and attention are aroused. Then the spoken part of the training begins.

On a side note, no presenter should be afraid to be definative, to come right out and let his audience know that "this is the way it is." Hedging weakens the whole presentation. From the standpoint of attention, an unequivocal statement can make an audience sit up and take notice. For example, "Ladies and gentlemen, you've undoubtedly heard some trainers say that planners and calendars are ineffective tools in time management. This is not true!" If spoken with proper emphasis and self-confidence, the statement implies that the person knows what they are talking about and is not afraid to say so. An audience will notice and respect it-even if they disagree.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Your Company Without Training - Any Questions?

Okay, be honest!Are you guilty of sticking in a few... Read More

Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss?

In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss... Read More

Technology & Communication

A study a couple of years ago found that 63%... Read More

6 Steps to Effective Communication

Effective leaders are known for being excellent communicators. Here's what... Read More

Let the Intern Do It - Affordable Help for Your Business

Do you have more projects than time? Help might be... Read More

Creating A Vision ? Bringing Your Dreams Into Reality

Do you have some goals you want to achieve or... Read More

Introducing the 15 Frameworks of Successful Self-Employed Professionals

A framework is a way of thinking, a point-of-view, a... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk Part 3

To develop and deliver a great Leadership Talk, you must... Read More

The Top 10 Requirements for Your Business to Become and Remain Profitable

We live in a relentlessly competitive world. The daily pressure... Read More

Employee Orientation: Get New Hires Off To a Great Start

The good news is that a new hire orientation program... Read More

Forget The Sandwich Technique

Do you remember being told to use the "sandwich" technique... Read More

Innovation Management ? IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest

IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that... Read More

Innovation Management ? Eliciting Dominant Ideas

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Todays Employees and Their New Needs: What You Need to Know

Today's employees are not only interested in security or in... Read More

The 20/60/20 Rule Of Leadership. Dont Go Solving The Wrong Problems

Several decades ago, a passenger jet approached a Florida airport... Read More

The Survey Feedback Process for Organizational Development and Change

THE PURPOSE OF SURVEY FEEDBACK:In globally competitive environments, organizations are... Read More

Big Company Intelligence on a Small Company Budget

Information is the lifeblood of the economy. That's especially true... Read More

CEO: The Key To Fix ingThe Marketing/Sales Collaboration Problem

We all know that achieving better alignment, synergy and cooperation... Read More

Innovation Management: The Quality and Quantity of the Idea Pool

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

The Importance of Business Goals

For you to get where you want to go, there... Read More

5 Management Decision Making Lessons from a Long Shot. A Heartening Belmont Victory

Like many, I watched the 134th Belmont Stakes hoping to... Read More

Hiring Tip -- Picking The Best Candidates

I often hear leaders from all types of organizations ask... Read More

On The Job Training is Something You Canā??t Afford to Skip

Trained employees are more productive employees; thereā??s no doubt about... Read More

The Power of ?Ask?

For Call Center managers, it is not a pipe dream... Read More

6 Shared Factors of Successful Executives

These factors where determined by interviews with and books from... Read More

Take Control of Your Paper in 3 Easy Steps

Do you have piles of paper on your desk. Many... Read More

Use Every Weapon You Have

One of the strongest weapons available allows business, non-profit and... Read More

Create Your Dashboard for Success

Driving down the road our eyes frequently scan the vital... Read More

A Man and His Razor

It is vain to do with more what can be... Read More

How to Reject a Job Applicant

A Nightmare That Really HappenedOver 10 years ago, when I... Read More

How to use NLP for Business?

What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming?Neuro-Linguistic programme is nothing but the study... Read More

Meeting Your Meeting Expectations

"To get something done a meeting should consist of no... Read More

3 Simple Things the Best Managers Do - And You Can Too!

If it's so simple, why don't managers all over the... Read More