Capture your audience and leave a lasting impact by playing the attention game

We live in a world where attention is the top currency. There is always somewhere else you could spend your time and attention. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube etc. All are rabbit holes you could spend hours and hours in.

So, whether you are a speaker, writer, creator or thought leader, you have to learn to play the attention game.

How are you going to come out on top when there are millions of other things your audience could be doing?

I will get to that, but first an important principle to keep in mind:

When you say ‘yes’ to something, you are actively saying ‘no’ to everything else you could be doing at that time.

The same goes for everyone else. To win the attention game, you have to start big, stay engaging, and inspire action to leave a lasting impact. Give people a reason to stay engaged with what you are saying.

3 pillars of the attention game

Emotion: When you trigger an emotion it makes it easier for the audience to connect to what you are saying. You are not just giving them information, you are relating it to their life. When they feel you are speaking or writing directly to them and can solve a problem they have, you have their undivided attention. Know which emotion you are trying to evoke in your audience:

• ‘That is so funny’
• ‘That is amazing’