Do you know what happens to people in 8 seconds?
They lose focus.
A recent Canadian study showed that a person’s attention span has decreased from 12 seconds in 2008 to 8 seconds today.
To put that into perspective:
1) That’s a 33% reduction in attention span.
2) That’s shorter than a goldfish’s attention span at 9 seconds.
Yikes! Any thoughts on what’s causing this?
You guessed it — our digital lifestyles.
This study also noted 3 important points:
1) This trend is not age or sex specific. It’s happening in all generations – not just the younger ones, and is more a function of lifestyle than anything else. The more we use technology in our day-to-day lives, the shorter our attention spans become.
2) People with shorter attention spans can store information to memory more quickly IF it happens during those first few moments. This means memory is front-end loaded.
3) On average, people are becoming skimmers of information, not readers.
What does all of this mean for you?
You have less time to get your message across to clients, and it ideally is delivered with these trends in mind.
Here are 5 Ways to Help Keep the Attention of Your Reader
1. Write shorter emails
Try a 50-word guideline for emails. Make sure any requests or important details are at the beginning and that your subject line is clear and compelling.
2. Write shorter articles and blog posts
Try for around 500 words. Position your main point in the first few sentences (i.e. front-end load your information). If you are making an offer or have a call to action in the article, don’t wait until the end to mention it. Find a way to reference it upfront and then circle back to it again at the end.
3. Write juicier headlines that pull people in
You are competing with thousands of other pieces of data and distractions in the reader’s world. Think about what will cause that person to click and read more — likely something with intrigue, something they can personally relate to, something current in the news, or something that has an element of surprise or shock value.
4. Make sure offerings and requests are simple and clear
Complexity causes people to lose focus. Confusion causes people to say no. So keep things simple. Be clear with directions. Use bulleted lists and numbering if requests have more than one step.
5. Use headings throughout your text
This helps the skimmers absorb your information quickly. Think of it this way. If people only read your headings and sub-headings, could they get the gist of what you are trying to say?
EMPOWERING ACTION STEPS:
Take one of the 5 ways to keep your reader’s attention and begin practicing it this week.
It will guide you to greater clarity in all of your communications. Remember, with the digital age here to stay, attention spans are not growing longer any time soon. So this 8-second rule cannot be ignored.
Wishing you abundant success,
Paula
