How to get your audience's attention, immediately
Why are questions a great way to start a speech?
Questions are a great way to start a speech because they appeal to the audience's curiosity. Psychologists (Berlyne and Lowenstein) investigated curiosity. They found that when you ask a question, people will focus on finding an answer. All other distractions go into the background.
Curiosity is a drive, like hunger. When we are hungry, we concentrate on finding a solution - food. Similarly with curiosity. When someone asks a question, we concentrate on finding an answer.
The five main ways to get immediate attention are:
Questions
Startling Statements
Incongruities
Stories
Props
What are the three main types of question that get attention?
The two main types of question that get the audience's attention are:
a) Direct Question
This can be a Who, What, Why, Where When or How question.
eg "Who wants to know how to make money?", "Where do you find the recipes for the tastiest dishes?", "What was your most memorable experience?" etc
or
b) Simple Question:
"Can you remember your last holiday?", "Did you turn the light off when you came here tonight?" etc
c) Question with choices
This is any question that gives a selection of answers. It is often used in the popular TV quiz shows.
eg. "Who was the first man on the moon: 1) Buzz Aldrin 2) Alan Shepherd 3) Neil Armstrong?", "Which of these is not a vegetable: 1) cabbage 2) cucumber 3) potato?" etc
What are Startling Statements?
Startling statements are another way of grabbing your audience's attention. Startling statements are an implied question. You give the audience a fact that relates to their welfare. It may start as a question. Then you pause. And let them think if the fact applies to them. (This is where the audience is asking themself a question.)
eg "One in fifty people dies of a heart attack. There are fifty people in this audience.", "People who smoke will die before they are 47. There might be someone who smokes here.", etc
What do you mean by 'incongruities'?
Incongruities are statements that you know sound reasonable but you can't put your finger on why. You pause. You think. Then you realise it makes sense. It may be a play on words (a 'pun'). It can be a play on associated ideas (a 'joke').
eg "I saw an ad for funerals. That's the last thing I need.", "I was wondering why the ball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me." "What's the difference between jam and jelly? -I've never been caught in a traffic jelly!"
Why use Stories to get attention?
Stories are accounts of the human experience. Some of the accounts we have experienced ourselves. Others could relate to an experience that we might have. We listen to stories to see how others solved a problem and came up with a solution. We listen to stories to see how we could cope with the situation if it ever happened to us.
It can be:
a) a general situation:
eg fairy tales where any stepmother is jealous of her daughter's beauty (Sleeping Beauty)
or
b) a specific instance:
eg a wife who can not cope with being rejected by a husband and then a lover (Anna Karenina).
What are Props?
Props are another great way to get your audience's attention quickly. They can be anything from a magic trick to an image.
They entice the audience to ask a question, "What's going on?", "Who's that in the picture?" Props create curiosity. Why not use them.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this session on how to grab your audience's attention, immediately. We have covered five strategies that always work:
Question - who/what/where/when/how or - simple or - with choices
Startling statements
Incongruities - words (puns) or associated ideas (joke)
Stories - general or specific
Props
I hope you have found this useful. Every success. Paul.
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