Ways to capture and hold the audience's attention throughout a presentation, seminar, or conference

It's a common belief that presentations are only hard for the speaker. The listeners' task, meanwhile, is merely to perceive the information given. And yet, listening comprehension requires considerable effort.

How to establish contact with the audience

Let's start with approaching the audience. Many people have trouble deciding how to approach the audience. While the past tendencies implied emphasized respectfulness, like announcing numerous people present, today it's better to approach the participants in a more simple, business-like manner.

It is recommended to establish contact in an open, friendly tone, yet still maintain a distance. If you are unfamiliar with the people you are approaching, make sure to treat them with a note of reverence, but without groveling. Whether it comes from innate instinct or from experience and training, the ability to find the right tone to address the audience is one of a speaker's greatest virtues.

Instant attention-grabbing techniques to ensure solid contact with the audience

There are some professional speaking techniques you can use to quickly establish contact with the audience and proceed to the main topic.

1. Use time and location. "The very room we are in now is where…", "Today, we were informed that…". This simple technique has proven to be a very effective attention-grabbing tool. Often used by speakers at training sessions, seminars, and conferences, it works every time, like a charm!

2. Mention a source generally known and accessible to the gathered. "As I heard it on yesterday's Evening News…", "Today, on the YouTube channel of someone we all know…" A powerful and reliable, this technique works great for capturing attention and establishing contact. This way, listeners automatically join "the speaker's side". Coming back from the audience, "Yes, I saw it" and "I heard it, too" remarks serve to further mobilize the others.

3. Ask rhetorical questions. An emotionally charged, open-ended question perfectly grabs the attention of the audience. Once that's done, you can elaborate on the theme stated with further questions and arguments.

4. Arouse curiosity. Give the listeners a piece of information they don't know about yet. Or voice a paradox to activate the audience's thinking activity.

Make them wonder about your resolution of the paradox. For instance, "Oscar Wilde said: 'Moderation is a fatal feature. Only the extreme leads to success.' I find this one very easy to verify". Here's another example: "John Morgan once remarked, 'I can do a year's work in nine months, but not in twelve.' Gee, the man was right." You will have your listeners' full attention until they know what you're getting at. It's a common practice to start training sessions, seminars, and conferences with a paradox statement to elaborate the topic in a captivating way.

5. Use visual aids. Bring along an object and begin the meeting by saying, "Look at this book in my hands. An eye-catching binding, the highest quality paper, so pleasant to touch… And yet, it bears no truth, not an ounce of it". Watch how the intrigue and demonstration of an object can stimulate the audience's attention.

6. Talk about yourself. Start with telling a real story: something that happened to you personally, or in a book you've read. For example: "One day, I happened to witness this strange argument…".

7. Quote a celebrity. "Let's take a moment to reflect on Claude MacDonald's words: 'If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock." Here, you got their brains working and minds focused. Such a way to start your speech is very convenient: you can prepare a fitting phrase in advance, and its quality is sure to capture everyone's attention.

8. Quote someone you know. Instead of quoting the greats, you can bring up a statement of someone you know, having prepared the audience beforehand, like this: "I know this guy who has a gift for seeing things that other people can't. So, one day he says to me…"

9. Appeal to the vital interests of the gathered. Feel free to bring up issues of listeners' concern, to solve their everyday problems. For example, "Why do we need to know how to get a job in the U.S.? We better learn about writing a good résumé."

10. Take your time with humor. That's right, don't try to sound too witty or make jokes in the very first minute. It's best to save your humor for the next stages of your presentation. Starting your speech with a joke, you run the risk of being perceived as frivolous and not worth listening to.

How to hold the audience's attention

Now, here are some basic principles of holding attention:

• Rich content. Offer new information or a fresh interpretation of the known, interesting ideas, thorough analysis.
• Comprehensibility. Take into account the listeners' background and level of education. Always keep in mind that many people only hear what they want to hear.
• Link your presentation to the issues important to your audience, show your empathy and personal involvement in the matter.
• Communicate with the audience in a relaxed way, expressing it in your voice, gestures, and posture.
• The speaker's confidence and emotional commitment facilitate the idea's transmission to the audience.
• Proper pausing. Pauses allow the listener to process the things he or she just heard. An average person can actively listen for about 15 minutes, after which he needs a break: a brief aside or a fun fact.

Apart from that, you can use special techniques, such as:

• Speech dramatization serves as an emotional illustration of the information being told.
• Repeating the same words over and over again brings out the essentials.
• Quoting lightens up the audience and makes the speech more entertaining. But be sure not to overuse it.
• An unexpected juxtaposition must necessarily be clear to the listeners.
• Hinting is another dramatic trick to spice up the performance.
• Provocation means making a statement the audience will not agree with. This way, the speaker gets the audience's attention and leads them to valuable conclusions.
• Jokes are great for relieving emotional tension, yet it only should be resorted to if your sense of humor is developed. Speakers only funny to themselves never look good.
• Proverbs, sayings, and catchphrases convey the meaning of words more succinctly.

Notably, professional training providers often have a natural gift for holding an audience's attention. They just happen to apply these techniques unconsciously.