Cartoon by Frank Cotham in The New Yorker. Buy his artwork here.
In a recent conversation Jon Husband commented that, in the face of information overload, knowledge is no longer power. Today, attention is power:
- With
the indifference and ignorance of the modern electorate in most
countries, the politician who can grab the most media attention (unless
it's really bad attention) is almost sure to win. You need to either be
a celebrity, or buy celebrity, to get that attention. Get that
attention, and you get power.
- Big corporations know that the
purpose of advertising isn't to communicate or inform the public about
your product, it's to get your attention. If they can get your
attention, they can get your dollars, enough to buy up competitors so
they have no opportunity to divert that attention.
- Extremists
of every stripe know that if they can get public attention, they can
accomplish much more than by trying to articulate their message
coherently or passionately.
- In the business rat race, you're
much more likely to get ahead if you do one or two things well that
really garner attention, rather than a dozen things competently but
invisibly. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
- Tall people
succeed more than short people, and loud people get more response than
soft-spoken people, for no other reason than that they command more
attention.
I've been writing this blog for five years, and
developed an astute and delightful readership, but I don't really get
much attention. So far that hasn't concerned me -- I'm content to
inspire readers whose knowledge and energy and capacities are
undoubtedly way beyond mine to act on what they learn here and inspire
others to act. But they often lament that they can't get much attention either.
So what are some ethical strategies for getting more attention for knowledge, ideas and insights that are important?
How did the anti-smoking gang, and Al Gore, and the Earth Hour gang,
manage to get as much attention for their causes as they did?
I'm
looking for your ideas on this, since if I had the answers I'd have
applied them. How can we get attention? How can we get people to
listen? Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
- Make the
message simple, compelling, personal and memorable. That makes it
easier to hold attention, and to allow people who hear it to get the
attention across to others, virally.
- Repeat the message often (but not too often). Sometimes people need to hear something a few times before it really registers.
- Show,
don't tell. Use a story or photo or graphic example to convey the
message instead of lecturing or beating people over the head with your
argument and analysis. When people get it from a story, they'll fill in
the blanks to make it their own, and then it's their learning, their story, not yours, so they'll memorize it, and retell it.
- Be passionate (your enthusiasm is infectious and persuasive), but don't be hysterical.
- Be sincere. If you don't really care, you can't expect others to. You can't fake this.
- Don't try to change people's minds. Tell them what you
believe, and why. Give them information, not argument. If they're ready
for what you have to say, they'll pay attention. If not, don't waste
your time.
What else? What have you done that has received
more attention than anything else you've done? What was it that made
the difference?
. . . . .
And
now that I have your attention: This Friday I'm off to Australia
(mostly Victoria) and New Zealand (North Island) for a week of business
meetings (knowledge management, sustainability and education), a week
of training (Open Space etc.), and a week of vacation (nature
photography). I'll be back before month-end, and I'll try to post from
time to time, but articles will be sporadic. |
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
