News flash: humans are ignoring more information than ever before!

And contrary to the views of the current Mrs. O’Brien, it’s not just husbands who engage in varying levels of selective hearing (a time honoured tradition) – we’re all at it.

We have to. We can’t cope with the incessant and increasing information overload that is directed at us on a daily basis.

We filter just to function.

And the outcome?

We’ve become more distracted.

Despite our best efforts to apply blinkers as we try to sift through more information than we can handle- we are finding in increasingly difficult to figure out what matters, what we should prioritize and what’s a waste of time.

And, truth be told, it can all be quite exhausting and less than effective.

Our attention spans are being tested and stretched to breaking point

According to Gloria Mark, a Professor of Informatics at the University of California:

“Most workers switch gears every few minutes, and once distracted, it can take nearly half an hour to get back on track”

Wild, isn’t it?

Our attention spans are rapidly trending towards that of a sparrow!

Our productivity is under constant threat

Of course, common problem with this behaviour are:

• Less gets done
• Stress levels rise, and
• Many find themselves working longer hours just to complete their workloads.

Left unchecked, these can create a vicious cycle that can wreak havoc at human and business levels.

Meanwhile you may need to deal with the challenges of communicating with these audiences – who are coping with the hectic trappings of modern living and whose brains may be full.

What tactics can you apply to break through the clutter?

If you want people who are under severe time pressures to listen to you and give priority to your ideas, they need to feel that:

• There are compelling reasons why they should pay attention to you, and
• Doing so is a better use of their time than ignoring you

Aim to pass their respective WIIFM (what’s in it for me) tests.

Audiences pay more attention to speakers who:

#1 Provide real value

As you think about what you want to say to your audiences – ask yourself how your proposed ideas can take away perceived pain or add gain. If you can do both, so much the better.

Interestingly, the prospect of reducing current pain will often prompt a quicker and a better response than the possibility of future benefits. And small or incremental gains are often not given as much attention as you might imagine

#2  Make things easier

This is actually a subset of point one.

Audiences commonly perceive greater value in saving time than they do money. If someone offers you a credible way to make your life easier – would that get you attention?

Enough said.

Over to you

What challenges are you experiencing in breaking through the clutter and reaching your target audiences?

What tactics have you used to address these issues?