How to Grab Your Audience’s Attention in Seconds

You have exactly 7 seconds from the time you step in front of your audience until your audience decides if they are going to listen to you. You have exactly 30 seconds before your audience determines if they are going to check-out or pay attention to the remained of your speech or presentation.

What does this mean to you as the speaker?

If you spend too much time on blaring pleasantries, you will loose your audience even before you get started.

Here are 6 tips to help you grab your audience's attention.

1. Be prepared

Before you step out in front of your audience, whether you are presenting from the stage or in front of a board room, you need to know exactly what your first words and actions are going to be. It's a good idea to script out your first sentence or two and have it memorized to the point you could say it in your sleep.

2. Be familiar with where you will be presenting

If at all possible visit the location of the presentation before it is your turn to speak. You want to be familiar and comfortable with your location. This helps to build confidence. If you project an air of confidence from the stage, your audience will have more faith in your knowledge and skills. If you are speak-ing from a stage or platform, practice walking onto the stage. Look for things like, will I be coming out from behind a curtain, do I have to walk up steps, will there be a hand rail, how big is the stage?

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3. Be happy

You want to have a smile on your face before you start walking out. If you wait until you get in front of your audience, you have waited too long. One way to help you smile as you walk out is to take your tong and wipe off your teeth and moisten the inner part of your lips. This will help keep your lips from sticking to your teeth. If you have a problem with dry mouth, try putting a very small amount of Vaseline on your teeth. You want to be able to move your lips without worrying about them sticking in place.

4. The Ed Tate Scan

Once you get to the location where you will start your speech or presentation, do "The Ed Tate Scan". Start on your right and slowly scan the room. You want to make eye contact with at least one person on the right, in the middle and on the left. Then come back to center, pause for a count of three, then start with your opening. This will signal to your audience that you are the one in control and that you are ready to get started.

5. Match your audience's energy

If at all possible, be in the audience prior to your speech or presentation. This will give you a sense of their energy. If the audience is excited and ready to go, you don't want to come out slow and with a monotone voice. This will bring your audience down. Likewise, if your audience is more mellow, you don't want to come out with high energy and scare them off. If you are like me, a high energy person, and you have an audience that is not at that level when you start, you will need to build up to your normal energy level. Start out a little slower and softer then build the excitement as you go.

6. Grab their attention with your opening statement

Most speakers make the mistake of thanking their audience, the people that invited them to present or talk about the weather. They have just wasted their first 30 seconds and have lost their audience before they even get to their content. You want your first statement to grab your audiences attention.

You can do this in one of five ways:

• with a bold statement,
  
  
• with a question,
  
  
• with a story,
  
  
• with an activity or
  
  
• a quote - one caution about starting with a quote, don't use a quote that your audience already knows. Use that one later in your speech. If you start with a familiar quote, your audience will think, "Oh here we go again. Another un-original speaker". You want your audience to think, "Oh, I have not heard that before. This ought to be good".
  
  
  

Before delivering your next speech or presentation, consider the impact of your first 7 and 30 seconds. You don't get another chance to make a good first impression. Try one of the technics above to grab your audiences attention right off the bat.