Research from Microsoft has shown the average attention span of a human is 8 seconds.
Yes, 8 seconds! That’s less than a goldfish! 🐠
So if you haven’t ‘hooked’ your audience in this time, you’ve already lost them.
So what can you do in the first 8 seconds to make your audience listen to you?
Here’s an incredibly simple three-step process:
1. Come up with a HOW TO statement
The statement must address a question your audience cares about. The statement should have the word YOU or YOUR in it.
For example – “How to drive more visitors to your website”
2. Add a PRECISE NUMBER to your statement.
The number must be grounded in reality and evidenced later in your presentation. Try to provide evidence with personal experience or academic research if possible.
A study by UCLA found that precise numbers inspire more confidence in an audience than round numbers. Why do you think this article is helping you in under 8 seconds rather than under 10?!
For example – “How to drive 2800 visitors to your website every day”
3. Say it… and SAY IT QUICK.
Don’t waste time.
Say this statement as the first line in your script before you say anything else. Now everyone is clear what question your video is going to address and if they want to know the answer they will hang around to find out.
So now you have your audience’s attention you need to deliver on whatever you promised in your opening statement. To help you with this, check out our five top tips for writing the perfect script.
