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Presentation tips to grab multitaskers

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by Tom Brigham, Rexi Media

A friend recently described to me how his 12-year old son did his homework and I admit I was a little shocked by how much times have changed. He would be multitasking frantically on his computer with his iPod in his ears blaring hip hop, constantly shooting SMS  text messages from his cell phone. Apparently the youngster actually got his work done, but I have no idea how. When I was a kid, we had TV, the stereo and the (one) family telephone, and we certainly didn’t talk on the phone with one iPod earpiece in the other ear while typing on our Facebook pages at the same time.

A 2005 survey of Americans age 8-18 by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that American children today were using electronic media a total of 6.5 hours a day, but more telling was the finding that they were packing more media exposure into that time due to “media multi-tasking”. In some ways, these hyper-kinetic kids may be more productive than we were, and they are certainly computer savvy (one friend’s children make elaborate PowerPoint slides to indicate what they want for Christmas). However, I feel that there will be some unanticipated side effects from growing up immersed in a hive of electronic activity.

A recent UCLA study indicated that the latest generation to graduate college is so absorbed in multi-tasking while they study that they have the shortest attention span of any generation in history. In fact, a new condition known as “attention deficit trait” (ADT) has been identified which is believed to be affecting all ages in the modern workforce. This condition, which is becoming increasingly common, makes employees feel perpetually distracted, impatient, disorganized and overwhelmed by their work.

For a variety of reasons, the last ten years have brought an increase in how productive individual employees are expected to be, and this has coincided neatly with the rise in adoption of mobile devices, text messaging, and IM usage (see Figure 1). It wasn’t that long ago that I did not even own a cell phone – now I am embarrassed to admit that I feel a bit naked if I leave the house without my Blackberry.

Figure 1: Blackberry Subscriber Account Base (in Thousands)
Source: RIM Annual Report 2008

What does this mean for trainers and presenters? If you’re training corporate students face-to-face, via webinars, or in on-demand presentations, the question is, how do you deliver your material in a way that appeals to a busy, distracted, overwhelmed and often multitasking audience? What techniques can you use to capture and hold the attention span of a group of ADT-prone employees whose thumbs are itching for their mobile phones?

At Rexi Media, we have a bold approach to this problem. After sitting through hundreds of tedious online or face-to-face sessions, we developed an ardent desire to change the way business presentations are delivered. What follows are a few highlights from our system. These techniques show how to capture attention and “Rexify” your delivery (Rexify comes from our company name, Rexi, which means “to direct” or “to guide” in Latin).

1) Better Beginnings

In the first minute of your presentation, your audience will subconsciously decide whether you are offering something brilliant or if they will be enduring the same old format, starting with “I am so glad you’ve taken the time to be here today. I can’t wait to walk you through these 78 slides”.

To create a better beginning, consider starting a presentation with a provocative statement (“By this time next week you will want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro”), a shocking statistic (“80% of all hedge fund managers take naps during business hours”), or a unique prop (“this is an actual machete used by General Douglas Macarthur”).

The appearance of monologue is an audience turn-off, while involving the audience right away is a great way to announce an atypical session. The likelihood of multitasking is greatly diminished when you immediately give people something to do. Whether you ask participants to answer a polling question (in an online session) or to stand up and speak about a topic (in a face-to-face session), the initial impression is of a two-way exchange, rather than a sleep-inducing monologue. Imagine the immediate engagement that occurs when the presenter starts with a thought-provoking question, asking for audience input: “Google employees are allowed to bring their dogs to work. Do you think this would be too distracting or would it increase productivity?”

2) Think in Pictures

Everyone seems to know that a picture is worth a thousand words, but for some reason, the art of displaying ideas graphically is often lost in modern training and presentations.

The failure to use graphics to emphasize a point and tell a story in a clear and appealing way is prevalent not only in most PowerPoint presentations, but also in content delivered via more modern tools such as blogs and wikis. Figure 2 shows the difference between a standard, drab wiki page without graphics and a lively, engaging one with graphics. Notice how the illustrated example on the right jumps out and encourages the reader to investigate.

Figure 2: Wiki Pages With and Without Graphics

Figure 3 shows two PowerPoint slides before and after being Rexified. Since standard PowerPoint templates create bullets by default, it is all too easy to fall into the pattern illustrated by the spiritless example on the left. The Rexified slide on the right shows how the use of professional graphics, arranged in a simple, clear sequence with a narrative undertone, naturally captivates the audience in a way that stale bullet points do not.

Figure 3: The Power of Using Clear, Professional Graphics as Part of a Narrative

Consider using visuals not only to help illustrate a concept or a process, but also to constantly invite the audience to focus on your presentation by igniting their thinking. In Figure 4, the visual prompts the audience to think and become engaged quickly. Overall, keep in mind that visuals increase the retention of your materials (the brain remembers more of what it sees and hears) and they also help you save time (the brain processes visual information faster than auditory information).

Figure 4: Strong Visuals Capture Attention and Decrease Multitasking

3) Use Words for Humans (not corporate clichés)

When presenters and trainers use expressions like unparalleled, customer-centric, going forward, win-win, and (gasp) thinking outside of the box, the eyes of their audience members tend to glaze over. Too often presenters revert to using a templatized language, devoid of meaning and sincerity. Students and participants appreciate simple, precise language, the kind you would use with your friends and family around the dinner table. Instead of standard clichés and canned sound bites, we encourage the use of clear, fresh and honest words, which help presenters to connect with audiences and keep participants from multitasking while attending a session.

4) Vocal Variation

Another reason why audience members tend to fade into multitasking mode is because presenters speak in a monotone voice without variation or adjustment. Can you imagine a symphony being played at exactly the same volume without any pauses or accents, devoid of crescendos and decrescendos, pianissimos and fortissimos? This would be a pretty dull performance, and the same goes for speaking and presenting.

We tend to be attracted by contrast. Watch how filmmakers use this technique; action sequences juxtaposed with quiet scenes or tense quiet moments followed by explosive sounds are standard practice for grabbing audiences’ attention in movies, and these can be used to make your presentations more captivating as well. Using dramatic pauses, varying the pace, or changing the volume of one’s voice for dramatic affect are all key elements of vocal variation. Some speaking coaches call this learning to “sing” when making a presentation, and this simply refers to the art of expressing emotion and meaning with vocal emphasis and tone.

One way to practice vocal variety is through recording exercises. Using a recording software and a microphone, you can “view” vocal inflections, pitch, and “thickness” of the voice. In Figure 6, notice how a recording program captures vocal variety visually. Which voice would entice you to pay attention and not tune out?

Figure 6: Vocal Variety Viewed Using Recording Software

Rexi’s Mission

The four principles described here spring from a variety of disciplines (design, sociology, psychology, and advertising to name a few), and are based on proven techniques for connecting with audiences and keeping them engaged and attentive. At Rexi Media, we feel that there is a major disparity between the sophisticated methods used by the advertising and entertainment industries to connect with audiences and the plain vanilla served up in most corporate presentations. Our goal is to help companies create presentations and training sessions that make full use of these modern techniques, and we believe this will enable you to capture the attention of the multitasking generation. Ideally, this will also leave your audiences motivated, enlivened, and filled with a warm sense of anticipation at the idea of hearing from you again.

Tom Brigham, Rexi Media