{"id":45778,"date":"2021-09-05T09:25:19","date_gmt":"2021-09-05T13:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=45778"},"modified":"2021-09-06T10:43:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T14:43:50","slug":"grab-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/grab-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Grab Attention: Introduce the Unexpected"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can you strategically grab attention and get people to listen? Can you do it without being gimmicky?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get someone to hear your message, you first have to get them to notice you. The best way to grab attention is to break a pattern and introduce the unexpected. People tune out sameness, but you can get them to tune in by changing something up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn ways to grab attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sticky Messages Are Unexpected<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cU\u201d in the SUCCESs formula for creating \u201csticky\u201d messages stands for \u201cunexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first challenge of communication is getting people\u2019s attention. Some people\u2014for instance, parents or the president\u2014grab attention simply because they have authority. However, most people have to attract attention<\/a> in some other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to do it is to break a pattern: introduce the unexpected. Sameness makes people tune out. They become aware of things only when something changes<\/strong>\u2014for instance, you snap to attention when your car or refrigerator starts making a strange noise. Your brain is engineered to be acutely aware of changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example of how breaking a pattern got people\u2019s attention. On every flight, flight attendants are required to give safety instructions, but they\u2019ve become so routine that no one listens to them. However, one flight attendant was able to grab attention by saying things they didn\u2019t expect. For instance, during the seemingly obvious instructions for how to fasten and unfasten a seatbelt, she said: \u201cFor those who haven\u2019t been in a car since 1965, the proper way to fasten a seatbelt is to slide the flat end into the buckle.\u201d  Regarding the exits, she said: \u201cAs the song goes, there might be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only six ways to leave this aircraft.\u201d Passengers applauded her routine when she finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her spiel did two things a message must do in order to stick: 1) get people\u2019s attention: create surprise and 2) hold their attention: generate interest<\/a>.<\/strong> She created surprise with her first unconventional remark, then maintained interest as she made additional jokes, which made people wonder what might come next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grab Attention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some ideas are naturally sticky because they present surprising facts. For instance, the Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure you can see from space. Or, you only use 10 percent of your brain capacity. (Both of these statements are false.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you surprise people, you nullify their ability to guess what\u2019s coming next, or as the authors call it, \u201cbreak their guessing machines.\u201d When we realize we\u2019ve guessed wrong (our schemas have failed), we snap to attention, which is a built-in biological response to prevent us from getting something wrong in the future<\/strong>. Our eyebrows go up, our eyes widen, and muscles tense as we stop everything in order to process where we went wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An advertisement by the Ad Council triggered this response. The ad for a new minivan shows a father picking up his son after soccer practice and driving along attractive, tree-lined streets while the narrator describes the van\u2019s features. The dad stops at an intersection, the camera cuts to the boy, who\u2019s looking out the window, then the father pulls forward. Suddenly, the van is broadsided by another vehicle. The screen goes black and these words appear: \u201cDidn\u2019t see that coming? No one ever does. Buckle up\u2014always.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ad surprises by defying people\u2019s schema for minivan commercials (minivans deliver kids safely). Viewers are more likely to think about checking seatbelts before the next trip. Surprise makes us stop and think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprise usually is short-lived. However, there are a few instances where surprising ideas generate ongoing attention\u2014for example, conspiracy theories and gossip\u2014where we want to know more or figure out what\u2019s going on. Because of the surprise factor, conspiracy theories tend to crop up when a celebrity dies young, like JFK or Kurt Cobain, and people are trying to get their minds around it. In contrast, old people\u2019s deaths typically don\u2019t generate conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid Gimmicks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A pitfall to avoid when using surprise to grab attention to your message is the gimmicky surprise<\/strong>. Attention-getting gimmicks are typically not relevant to the core message<\/a> and leave your listeners feeling puzzled or cheated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, a Super Bowl 2000 ad for a dot-com fell flat when it grabbed attention through surprise, but viewers couldn\u2019t figure out the message. It showed a college marching band performing at a football game, when suddenly a pack of wolves ran out of the tunnel and attacked the musicians. (Shortform note: here\u2019s a video of the ad<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be effective in making your message stick, surprises must make sense in retrospect\u2014when the listener thinks back, he or she must instantly see the logic connecting the surprise with a core message. To put it another way, if you disrupt your listener\u2019s guessing ability, you have to fix it by showing how the surprise makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary, to use surprise to grab attention:<\/p>\n\n\n\n