THE TOOLKIT
Attention Grabbers

We encourage using an ATTENTION GRABBER any time you sense the need to pull people away from their distractions or when you are tasked with setting up a complex or involved message. They do more than just gain people’s attention, they establish a greater sense of engagement and create a more conversational atmosphere.

Whether you are speaking to one person or 100, an ATTENTION GRABBER has real merit and helps to create a speaker’s credibility. Our studies conclude that a stand-up speaker is particularly vulnerable to distraction or a more challenging audience and should use ATTENTION GRABBERS. The following are our “best-tested” openers:

Anecdotes

Anecdotes are brief stories that relate to your topic. They can be simple and recall a past experience.  As a result, they usually begin with:

• “About a year ago…
• “Just the other day…
• “About a week ago…
• “I was recently in conversation…
• “Not too long ago… 

When you begin your anecdote with these words, it strikes an accord in the adult mind back to childhood when stories began in a similar fashion: “Once upon a time…”or, “In a galaxy far, far away…” Anecdotes can be humorous or serious, but they should relate to topic or the point you’re trying to make. Anecdotes are not jokes. Jokes have the purpose to make people laugh. This may not be the best way to begin a presentation or message where you have got to communicate a difficult message. We also don’t recommend beginning with a joke because it rarely has relevance on your topic. It’s difficult to go from, “A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar …” into, “Now, let’s spend some time discussing last year’s receivables.” Starting with a joke may also cause you more harm than good if your audience doesn’t find it funny. You may not only lose them, you may insult them as well. Here’s a simple way to begin with an anecdote:

Statistics/Interesting Factoids

Statistics and factoids are another form of attention grabber. Numbers can grab an audience’s attention, especially if they are dire or remarkable. Numbers and factoids have the ability to quickly communicate a strong sense of urgency, importance, or awe and hence can set the stage with great interest. Think about your presentation and ask yourself, “Are there statistics that jump out?  Are there interesting facts that quickly communicate the impact of the message?” Some example may include:

• “The collectibles market is a 50 million dollar business, and we currently possess zero dollars in this marketplace.”
• “If Barbie was alive and life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33.”
• “Honey is the only food that does not spoil.”
• “Fifty percent of Americans live within 50 miles of where they grew up.”
• “Seventy percent of Americans have visited either Disneyland or Disney World at least once.”
• “Iceland’s phone book is alphabetic by first names.”

When you begin your attention grabber with a truly interesting or fascinating fact or statistic it causes people to sit up and take notice. The key is to think about your audience and make sure the factoid is interesting to them, as opposed you finding it fascinating. And, make sure you’re able to relate the statistic and factoid into your topic.

Quotations

Quotations not only grab your audience’s attention, but also have the ability to add validity to your topic, especially if you quote a person that is highly respected by your audience. One of the challenges in using quotations is to be sure to avoid quoting a person who is not respected. Hence, understanding your audience is key, and making sure the quotation is interesting enough that it will stand out in the minds of your listeners. Some simple quotations may include:

• “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

–Lou Gehrig

• “640K ought to be enough for anybody.”

–Bill Gates

• “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

–Martin Luther King Jr.

• “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

–Abraham Lincoln

When you quote someone, be sure to get the quotation accurate, reference the individual who said it, and even provide their title, position, or some background, especially if the individual is a bit obscure.

Questions (Rhetorical/Direct)

Using either rhetorical or direct questions immediately involves your audience and gets them thinking. It is very interactive and creates more of conversational tone that can feel a bit less formal. However, the question should relate to your topic and not be for shock value only. Some examples may include:

• “What is it that our clients/customers truly want? And perhaps more important, are we providing that?”
• “What is the number one driver in our business?”
• “What is the fastest growing sector in our marketplace, and are we poised to accommodate them?”
• “What is in your refrigerator at home, right now?”
• “What is the toughest conversation you’ve had to have in the last six months?”

Questioning your audience has the ability to open their minds and paradigms to new possibilities. One of the keys is to treat this technique as a true question, as opposed to a “technique” for affect. In other words, appear as if you’re truly asking, as opposed to telling your audience. Pause. Wait. Allow for silence to occur so your audience has time to truly think about what you’re asking.