Kris Taylor

A Minute to Get It: How to Get Your Audience’s Attention and Action

Never has it been easier to get messages out to a vast and global audience cheaply and quickly. And never has it been more difficult to get a sliver of someone’s attention in the cacophony of tweets, instant messages, blogs, pop-up ads and an avalanche of email. It is not uncommon for those I work with to report that they receive over 500 emails a day. Some have given up on trying to stay afloat in this sea of digital information; others burn the midnight oil in a futile attempt to read, reply, organize and delete.

This creates a clear dilemma for those who have an important message to communicate. It’s easy to push send – it’s not so easy to put together a message that is likely to be opened and read. No matter how important, how valuable, how timely – if your message is not crafted in a way that compels the receiver to notice it, open it, read it and act on it – all is lost.

The good news is, that researchers are constantly exploring what does entice someone to scan and then select information. They’ve even studied what makes something go “viral” – which means the dissemination has gone far beyond the intended audience.

Here are some of the things you can do to get, and then hold, your audience’s attention:

You do have a “minute to get it” – or perhaps less than 10 seconds. Your subject line, headline or opening words will immediately cause people to want to learn more or to move on to the next shiny object. Compel curiosity. Show the value. Invite them in.
Once you have them, you need to keep them. Good content is critical – or else minds and fingers will move on quickly. The hallmarks of good content include:
1. It is delivered with the audience in mind. Start with where they are and move them along. Think about their needs, their questions, and what adds value to them.
2. It tells a story. It has a beginning, an end, characters, conflict and a plot.
3. It utilizes emotion. The emotions you illicit may range from happiness to sadness, from joy to anger, from hope to despair. Research shows that happy trumps sad and amusing trumps serious. The golden rule: Data tells. Emotion sells.
4. It has practical value. Lists, hints, and How To content is compelling. How many times you have clicked on a story titled: “The Five Things You Must Know About…”?
5. It is concise. As such, edit with wild abandon, striking unnecessary or unclear wording. Be ruthless – and then cut some more.
6. It is surprising. Unexpectedness causes us to be curious – and then to remember the content. It also causes us to want to share. How many funny animal videos have you shared in your lifetime?
7. It is memorable. Using things like mnemonics, graphics, info-graphics, metaphors, and similes increase retention.
8. It has a call to action. Be clear about what you want someone to do after you’ve communicated with them. Share? Comment? Take action? End well – and with your call to action clearly stated.

I don’t believe there is or ever will be a magic formula – we will need to watch how changing technology, demographics, and social change impact our communication habits. But I do know that there are some universal elements, and I suspect these are timeless in their appeal: