7 ways to grab the attention of any audience

1. Movement

Imagine that you need to get someone to watch a point on a wall. This is almost impossible: our eyes constantly want to move, to slide from one object to another. And an attempt to hold your gaze is more likely to make you want to sleep.

It takes movement to grab attention. Both literally - walking around the audience or stage, and figuratively - moving from one topic to another. Even if you need to dwell on a certain issue for a long time, periodically touch on abstract topics, tell stories from life. This will make it easier to listen to you.

2. Surprise

Repetitive things make us bored. People who tell the same stories, politicians using the same arguments, make you want to be distracted by something else.

Leave room for secrets to be taken with interest. Change the chronology of the story, make the audience wonder what will happen next. Start from afar, draw unusual parallels, pretend that you are leading to one roundabout, and abruptly turn to another.

As you re-read your speech, find out for yourself exactly what the listeners will expect at each moment - and destroy those expectations.

3. Deliberate behavior

One of the most important things in public speaking is the speaker's behavior. If you speak without enthusiasm, with eyes fixed on the floor, close from the audience and show no interest in the topic, then the audience will do the same - bored and dream that it will end as soon as possible.

Think about what emotions you want to evoke in your audience and behave accordingly. If you need a flow of ideas from people, then communicate with pressure. If there is interest and excitement, speak openly and energetically. Like creates like - this rule works in the field of performances as well.

4. Assertion chains

Imagine you receive a cold call from a company. And the first thing that you are asked: "Would you like to use our services?" Of course, you answer: "No." Now the caller will have to perform miracles of persuasion to make you change your mind, and he is unlikely to succeed.

If we begin to deny something, our whole nature is directed to insist on our own and not change our position. We close ourselves, begin to be skeptical about the words of the interlocutor and are very reluctant to accept other people's ideas, even if they have nothing to do with the question to which we initially answered.

Therefore, it is necessary to create chains of statements. Ask people obvious questions to get a few yes in return. This will create a favorable environment for the perception of your ideas and will win the audience towards you. The person who said yes is psychologically inclined to absorb information and listen willingly.

5. Questions

Another good way to liven up your audience and get people to listen to you is by asking questions. Public speaking is usually a one-way interaction. The speaker talks, the others listen. But if you feel that people's attention is starting to slip away, ask them a question.

This reverses the pattern of interaction: now listeners have to speak, and you have to listen. For a second, the audience gains control over the situation, and this arouses interest, makes them react quickly. People feel involved in a conversation, which is much more fun than just taking in information.

6. Inclusion of a new

People have a craving for new information. This is one of the reasons why we love to read the news so much. This trait can be used for your own purposes. To make your speech more engaging, add news items that are relevant to your topic, but may generate interest on their own.

It could be a new invention that will revolutionize the entire industry, an amazing discovery in a related field, or something related to the city or country in which you are performing. The main thing is to remember that the news should contain enough familiar information, otherwise the audience will not be able to perceive it. Too much new is as bad as lack of it.

7. Dosing

Sometimes you want to tell the audience everything at once, share as much information as possible, because time is limited, and you have accumulated a lot of experience and knowledge. But it's better to slow down. A person can perceive not so much data per unit of time, and exceeding this threshold will lead to the fact that none of your theses will be remembered.

If you want listeners to really pay attention to your words, pick one or two main ideas and broadcast them. You can frame them with less important theses, life stories and other information, the main thing is not to lose focus. If your speech is focused, so will the audience.