Exactly 600 Seconds - GO!

You’ve got just 600 seconds…

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it goes quickly,
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so grab their attention and KEEP it!

600 seconds. That’s all the time you have to grab your audience’s attention - and then keep it.

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The average person will lose interest in whatever you have to say in just 600 seconds (a mere 10 minutes). So it's critical that you know how to grab their attention and engage them fully. Every 10 minutes!

If you lose their interest, nothing you say will be remembered.

Here are 4 powerful guidelines for gaining, and keeping your audience’s interest:

• Understand them
  • Directly address the pain points of your audience members. Don’t make assumptions. If you can’t learn about them in advance, then poll your audience members as they arrive. Ask specifically about the issue(s) they face, in relation to your topic, and the pain caused by the issue(s). Speak directly to it.
• Clarify the one, single, most important point you’d like them to leave with
  • Using your expertise, match their pain-point with the best path to resolution. Streamline that solution to one, single, most important takeaway. Frame it in an inspiring, audience-member-centered way. 
• Deliver your content in 10-minute blocks of time
  • Never talk for more than 10 minutes without changing it up significantly. Keeping their attention is critical. For example:
    • Minutes 0 – 2: Introduce a topic or concept
      Minutes 3 – 4: Connect with audience needs and emotions
      Minutes 5 – 7: Clarify W.I.I.F.T. (What’s in it for Them). This is the whole reason the audience is present – and your key to engagement. Explain exactly how the information you share will solve their problem and reduce their pain. Keep it simple.
      Minutes 8 – 10: Launch an interactive exercise that gets them practicing the concept or skill.  
• Guide – don’t lecture
  • Be the GUIDE rather than “the sage on the stage”. Participants who draw upon their own experiences, tell their own stories, and take time to solve their own problems, are truly engaged. Refrain from solving problems for them. Use your expertise to guide them towards their own resolutions.

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How did I do? Still have your attention? Put these 4 powerful guidelines to work at your next engagement. Become the presenter everyone asks for – share, lead, educate – get your point across and make the world a better place!

Make it a great day!

-Claire

P.S. If you haven't yet joined my Leadership Book Club, do it today! It's FREE, FUN, and a great way to be proactive about your own leadership growth.

About the Author:  Claire Laughlin is a highly regarded training expert who has dedicated her career to studying and improving patterns of communication in organizations. Claire works across various industries, coaching individuals and creating large-scale, global-reaching training programs designed to uplift and support excellence across functions and cultural divides. Claire shares her expertise by offering training solutions for all levels of professional development.