Persuasion & Influence For Dummies®

Chapter 8

Gaining and Maintaining Your Audience’s Interest

In This Chapter

Attracting and maintaining interest

Planning ahead with the attention curve

Dealing with lapses in attention

When was the last time someone mesmerised you to the point that you couldn’t take your eyes off her? What did she do that persuaded you to sit up and pay attention? How did she get you on board and keep you there? In other words, how did she grab your attention and hold it?

Engaging with your listeners so they’re open to what you say is vital if you’re going to persuade them to your way of thinking. Whether you want to gain and keep the attention of one or a hundred people, if you don’t connect from the beginning and increase their interest throughout, you’re going to have a hard time influencing them.

Fortunately, the ability to gain and keep someone’s attention involves simple strategies that you can apply to a variety of situations. Like all new skills, you have to practise if you want to hone your abilities.

In this chapter I share some ideas and concepts that equip you with an arsenal of techniques and tools to draw on when you want to persuade your audience – whether it’s one person, a small ...