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The Myth of the Short Attention Span
One of the questions I often get as a public speaking coach is, “How can I engage my audience better since they have shorter and shorter attention spans?”
Like many things, we often believe the other person is the challenge. In this instance, your belief that people seem to have ‘shorter attention spans’ is what is getting in your way — not the fact that you may not be that interesting to listen to as a presenter. ;)
Think about it…
When you are listening to something that is not interesting to you, don’t you have a short attention span?
When you are watching something that’s boring, don’t you have a short attention span?
When you are asked or told to do something that you don’t see the value in spending time doing, don’t you have a short attention span?
Did you notice the running theme in those examples?
It had nothing to do with attention spans. It had to do with either the topic or the presenter NOT being interesting to listen to or watch OR there being no clear understanding of WHY paying attention can benefit you. When things are interesting to us, they hold our attention longer.
As a speaker, whether you are having a one-on-one conversation, talking to a small group in a conference room, or…
