Brain Rules Public Speaking: Maintain Audience Attention

You have to show your audience that in order to get the information they’ve come to hear, they have to listen to you.

This advice seems deceptively obvious...

... I tell it to people who’ve come to me for presentation advice and they nod in agreement, as if to say, “Got it.”

But they haven’t. How do I know?

Because the following example is somewhat typical:

Sitting in the audience while observing a client during her presentation, I noticed although people were pretending to look at the presenter, most of the time they were using their open laptops to go shopping and check email. Afterward, I asked if she realized they weren’t listening.

“But they were,” she protested. “They were looking at me.”

“People can seem to be looking at you but not be listening. I mastered that skill in high school,” I said. “Let me ask you something: Do you enjoy being a presenter?”

“I love it,” she said.

“Are you bored while you present?” I asked.

“Not at all. It’s stimulating because I’m active all the time.”

“Which do you prefer? Presenting or listening.”

“Presenting,” she said. “I hate sitting passively while someone drones on—” As the shock of recognition passed across her face, she cut herself off, “Do you think that’s how my audience feels?”

Yes.

I suggested a challenge...

Find a way to keep the listeners in the audience as stimulated and engaged as you are as a presenter.

In his book Brain Rules, John Medina cites research that suggests after about ten minutes of listening to a particular topic, people’s minds wander.

No presentation can be a success if you can’t get and keep your audience’s attention, but you may have searched in vain for a method.

Here are three keys to the solution that we cover in this course:

Module 1: Ask the Right Questions

One of the best ways to keep your audience engaged is to ask the right types of questions.

To understand why, you first have to understand something about the human brain.

It is made up of two parts that operate independently...

...each controls a different mode of thinking.

Excellent communicators know how to ask questions that work both sides of the brain...

...this spurs the neurons to fire constantly, which keeps people attentive.

When a speaker is boring, the only neurons in the room that are firing are the speaker’s.

We'll show you how to use questioning techniques to stimulate both sides.

Module 2: Address Every Learning Style

If your audience is learning, you have their attention.

Seems simple enough...

The problem is that to present your content so you get the attention of everyone in the audience, you have to make sure you address each of the four learning styles.

1. Step Learners

2. Talk Learners

3. Research Learners

4. Create Learners

We'll show you how to do that with a technique that not only targets all four styles, but can be used at ANY POINT in your next presentation to get RAPT ATTENTION...

...it's VERY cool!

Module 3: Give Targeted Directionals

Yet another way to keep the attention of your audience is with a targeted directional...

...this is a short and sweet method that pays big dividends.

Whenever you want to get your audience’s attention, request that they do one of the following, depending, of course, on what items...

...handouts, monitors, slides, and so on—you are working with.

The actual words you use are somewhat important...

But...

The tone of voice you use is a make or break.

You want to sound confident, but not overbearing, so they’ll take action.

Brain Rules Course Reviews:

“Jason’s advice is practical, straightforward, and incredibly helpful for anyone looking to greatly improve his or her presentation skills.”

Ryan Anderson -- Director of Instructional Design and Development

“Combining years of personal experience as well as knowledge in psychology and sociology, Jason delivered clear advice and practical exercises that turned me into a better oral communicator.”

Kyle Reger -- Software Developer

“It’s a challenge to change your mind and adopt new methods of teaching overnight, but this class helped me immediately improve my classes and my confidence as a trainer. Understanding how to ask questions effectively helps create a very lively atmosphere that makes class more interesting and fun for both the trainees and the trainers. Your class provided me with the easy-to-use formulas that I needed to make that happen. Understanding learning styles also made a huge impact on the way I teach. By prepping class to satisfy all learning styles, I saw an immediate gain in the satisfaction of the class and the trainees’ understanding of the material. It was challenging at some points to make that happen, but after integrating the concepts into some of my lesson plans it made me realize how powerful addressing learning styles really is.”

Mark Phelan - Corporate Trainer

Like I said, this course pays big dividends...

...and we'll show you how to do it properly to get them the same results.

See you on the inside!

About Your Instructor

International Public Speaking Coach, TEDx Speaker and Best Selling author Jason Teteak has taught more than one million people how to flawlessly command attention and connect with audiences in their unique style.

He’s won praise and a wide following for his original methods, his engaging style, and his knack for transferring communications skills via practical, simple, universal and immediately actionable techniques.

Or as he puts it “No theoretical fluff”.

Jason gained recognition at EPIC Systems in the medical software industry, where he was known as “trainer of trainers of trainers.”

He has developed more than fifty presentation and communication training programs ranging in length from one hour to three days that serve as the basis for The Rule the Room Method.

In 2014-2020 he was named #1 Best Selling coach on Public Speaking for his on-demand video teaching tools that quickly took off for over 1,000,000 online students around the world.

Teteak has flipped the model and changed the approach to great Public Speaking for even the most seasoned veterans.