The Art of Capturing the Audience’s Attention
What are the focal points of your speech and how do you use emotion to paint them?
A spoken language has accents on certain words in a phrase that are capable of completely changing its meaning. A show has spotlights to draw your eyes to the beauty of moments on the stage. A master photographer plays with blur in the background, and sharp intense focus on the subject to enhance a certain way of looking at the captured moment.
Do you use this art of directing attention in your speech?
“The art of photography is all about directing the attention of the viewer.” — Steven Pinker.
So is brilliant public speaking.
From the moment you pronounce the first word to the moment you utter your last, it is all a play of catching the audiences’ eyes, ears, minds and hearts and instilling your meaningful message at the crafted “appropriate” moment.
You might use disruption, break the known patterns and bring in the unexpected. Or maybe you are really gifted at building mystery, constructing suspense brick by brick. Or perhaps you have an instinct to touch people’s self interest. All those moments are inviting the listeners’ attention in.
In the next section of this article, you will discover the thought-provoking use of all 3 of these factors in the context of a prolific TEDx speech:
What are focal points in a presentation?
A focal point is a visual landmark to direct your attention towards; not just in the visual sense of a big colourful image on your screen, or a real object you use while speaking to people.
The focal point is the most emotionally-stamped, memorable component of your whole speech.
It’s the part that leaves a lasting impression long after the echo of your last word faints into silence and your audience has filed out of the concert hall.
Have you seen the TED talk on malaria by Bill Gates?
He offered the public a hard to forget intense emotional moment — a focal point for the speech.
Imagine you are in public and Bill Gates is on stage. He casually explains how more money is spent resolving baldness than malaria, apparently because many wealthy people suffer from baldness. There are lots of smiling faces around you.
Then comes the focal point: he states that malaria is transmitted by mosquitos and he smilingly opens a jar, releasing a bunch of insects. “There is no reason only poor people experience this.”
What would you feel? Would this moment stick with you?
As you can see, the focal point is not exclusive to positive emotion.
Excitement, enthusiasm, positive emotions associated with the act of inspiring and motivating people are the most reached for and the safest to embed in a speech. After all, who in your audience won’t appreciate a strong infusion of the “self-belief and enthusiasm” shot? You won’t see angry faces or relentless protests, right?
Can a shocking sensation be used as a focal point in a presentation?
It just came out of that mosquito jar…
I am curious: how do you perceive the disruption, mystery and audience’s self-interest rattled by Bill Gates’ focal point?
As speakers, we are change agents.
“We are not thinking machines. We are feeling machines that think.”
Antonio Damasio (neuroscientist)
To be the catalyst for change, we must be free to swatch from the entire palette of emotions. When we are whole, complete, and connected with our deep feelings, we become unafraid to challenge and change people.
Tap into the emotional reservoirs and take the audience through a rollercoaster-like emotional journey and you open the gates to instilling change. Don’t hesitate to access the vibrant, negative end of the spectrum of feelings to touch the pain point; make them feel the raw, cruel reality and then transport them into the desired favourable scenario.
In painting, artists often define an “entrance point” to their artwork. It is the point that catches the eyesight; the first thing you notice on the canvas. It is attiring like a magnet; you cannot avoid it. The exciting thing? When an artist modifies one painting’s entrance point, the interpretation of the whole canvas can be reinterpreted.
What intense part irresistibly focalises the attention of your audience during your speech?
You are a conductor of your speech’s symphony, directing your listeners on where to go. You are the photographer guiding the eye of the beholder toward the clear zone of interest. You are offering some gems woven into your presentation’s thought material, and these are the pieces that will be remarked and remembered.
Play with emotions, play with breaking the patterns, play with the visuals to intentionally enlighten those moments designed to enhance the desired meaning.
Want to make captivating presentations and improve your public speaking skills? Practice the tips from my free guide: Speak so that people listen.
If you want to find out more about the tool that not only creates a tight emotional bond with your audience but also makes your ideas delicious and infinitely memorable, read this article:
