You've Got 8 Seconds: Communication Secrets for a Distracted World

So, in the information age, how can you make an impression on someone that's strong enough to stand out among the noise? And when you only get moments to make an impression, how can you truly make those moments count?

Well, the author of "You've Got 8 Seconds" claims to have found a way. He argues that by designing a compelling message, being "slightly different," and boosting your presence, you can get heard and get remembered.

But there's a caveat, and the clue's in the title. We're told that the average human attention span is now just eight seconds, and if we can't make an impression in those eight short seconds, then like it or not, we're going nowhere. Thankfully, the author of "You've Got 8 Seconds" serves up 100 strategies for getting heard.

So, who's this book for? Well, pretty much all of us find ourselves competing with the wall of "noise" at one time or another. It's a problem for everyone, to varying degrees. So whether you're an experienced boardroom exec or an office freshman, a frequent speech-giver or a nervous socializer, if you need to sell ideas or you want to have more impact, you could gain something from reading this book.

The author, Paul Hellman, is well-qualified to write it. He's a business consultant and international speaker with degrees in management and psychology, who's worked with big-name organizations like Boeing, Bose and NASA. He helps them to optimize behavior in the workplace, and to boost people's performance and productivity.

"You've Got 8 Seconds" is Hellman's third book. It comes 15 years after "Naked at Work," and 31 years after "Ready, Aim, You're Hired!".

So, keep listening to find out how starting at the end, being the audience, and knowing your "nonverbals" from your "optics" can help you get attention.

"You've Got 8 Seconds" is divided into three parts that correspond with Hellman's three strategies: focus, variety and presence.

Let's take a look at some of the author's ideas, starting in Part One. Here, we learn how to capture attention with focus.

Chapters One and Three are typical of many in the book. They bring together a collection of strategies, most of which are simple tips to remember, rather than complicated processes to master.

Some of the pointers here might raise an eyebrow or two when you first read them. For example, "Start with your conclusion" and "Tell them what you're not going to tell them" might seem counter-intuitive. But they're useful reminders to put a little thought into what you're about to say before you say it. This can make all the difference when you only have eight seconds to get your message across.

Take the second example. Chances are you already know the famous public speaking advice to "Tell people what you're going to tell them; tell them; then tell them what you told them." So, "Tell people what you're not going to tell them" comes as something of a head-spinner. After all, when you've got only eight seconds to make an impact, why waste your time telling them what you're not going to say?

The answer is simply that less is often more when you're trying to grab someone's attention. You could announce that you're about to fill them in on every one of a set of experiments you conducted. Or, you could spare them the pain and say, "I'm not going to tell you about each of the 278 validation studies we ran. Let's just say it was complicated."

Put yourself in the listener's shoes. Which of the author's opening lines would hook you? One spells impending boredom. The other suggests inquiry and intrigue.

It's little, un-technical cues like these that provide so much of the value in this book. There's nothing complicated about them, but they prompt you to think again about how to create the most impact in the shortest amount of time.

Also in Part One is the Fast-Focus Method™. It's a three-pronged technique for capturing an audience's attention by designing messages and presentations from their point of view, rather than from your own. As the author puts it, it's a technique for actually being the audience.

The Fast-Focus Method™ involves asking three specific questions in sequence, as if asked by the audience to you, as the speaker: "Why should I listen?", "What exactly are you saying?", and "What should I do with this information?"

To answer the first question, you figure out what your audience needs or values, so you can tell them straight away why they should listen to you. You give them a reason to pay attention, and you hook them immediately.

Next up, you ask yourself what you're saying. This might seem like a no-brainer, because you're sure of your message, right? But are you really down to brass tacks yet? Even the most skilled public speakers and conversationalists can't get people to remember everything they say. It's crucial to hone in on your core message, or your audience will miss the one big thing you want them to take away.

Identifying your Number One core message gives you greater power to make it stick. It also leads you on to the third and final question. Thinking about what people should think, feel or do with your core message helps you make a greater impact, to influence the journey you want them to take.

We like this fast-focus technique. As with everything else in this book, it's simple and straightforward, and it provides a structured way to maximize your potential impact. Whether you're chatting with your spouse or addressing a crowd of thousands, we think that the three questions of the fast-focus technique offer a great way to boost your chances of holding attention.

The next part of the book looks at capturing attention with variety. This is about being different and bucking trends. It's about not doing the same thing as everyone else, and tweaking how you operate so that you stand out.

But let's be clear. What the author proposes is nothing revolutionary. He's not talking about delivering presentations accompanied by fireworks and a brass band. Instead, he proposes being just slightly different. In other words, you need to vary your style to grab attention, but not by so much that you risk damaging your reputation.

One area he looks at is how to get attention with a humble slide presentation. At some point, we've all sat through tedious PowerPoint presentations. Many seem to stretch on forever. And they're often so similar that they seem to blend into one, right?

Well, with a little variety, it's possible to wake everyone up and make a real splash.

Just think about titles, for instance. How often have you sat down to a presentation to be confronted by bland and boring slide headings? Something like "Key facts about market corrections" would send an audience to sleep. But a question, a provocative statement, or a surprising fact will draw them in. "What are smart investors doing now?" would make people think. "Four good things about losing all your money" would intrigue them, and a statement like "The average recovery time from a crash is three-point-three years" could startle them.

Whichever alternative style of title you opted for, you wouldn't be reinventing the wheel. You'd just be slightly different to the norm, but what an impact that little difference could have on your audience.

The author makes a similar point about interaction. Presenters often fall into the trap of using the same old slide templates and reciting to their audience exactly what's on the screen. It happens time and time again, as if no-one there in the room is able to read them for themselves, and it kills people's attention.

The author's medicine is simply greater interaction – ask your audience questions, instead of simply speaking at them. This might seem a simplistic solution, but it's not necessarily an obvious one – at least, not to everyone. Many people cling to their slides when delivering presentations, almost as a comforter. They seem scared of talking "around" what's on the slide, or using the information displayed to kick off an unscripted discussion.

You don't need to encourage interaction with every single slide in your deck, but if you can vary your presentation and get the audience to engage by using some slides as prompts for questions, you'll keep their attention and make a far greater impact.

In the third and final part of the book, we learn how to capture attention with presence.

Of the author's three strategies for getting heard, presence is the most elusive, the most nebulous. Focus and variety seem achievable targets, but how exactly do you go about building presence?

Well, Chapter 12 presents a framework of 10 measures you can use to assess whether your presence makes people listen, or not listen to you. They're grouped into three categories: your image, your drive and your temperament.

In the first of these categories, your image, Hellman suggests two factors that contribute to your presence: your nonverbals and your optics. "Nonverbals" are the characteristics of your voice and body language, and he argues that these are the most important of his 10 presence measures.

The advice that he gives here is characteristically grounded and succinct. He talks about how eye contact and the way you sound can affect your ability to get attention.

He also talks about aligning your words with your body language, and makes an interesting analogy with poker. In poker, one thing that keeps your presence strong is the ability to align your game with your body language, to avoid giving away a "tell." A tell is a nonverbal signal that reveals a potential weakness, and away from the card table, nonverbals can have a similarly detrimental effect on your presence.

It's a great analogy, because when your words and your body language are at odds with one another, your audience will likely trust your body language, just as in poker.

How effectively you match your words with your nonverbals is one factor among many that have a bearing on your presence, so it's crucial to be conscious of both when you're trying to get people to tune into your message.

So, what's our last word on "You've Got 8 Seconds"? Well, we liked it, for several reasons.

First, the author takes what is quite a hackneyed, well-worn theme and manages to produce a book that's both original and entertaining. Hellman writes in a concise, witty style that's often a delight to read. He wastes no time anywhere in getting to the point, and he gives simple, down-to-earth tips and suggestions. His advice is immediate and instantly understandable, and there's no technical jargon or advanced theoretical thinking to bog you down.

One downside is that the material on offer can feel a little thin. The lightness of touch and the simplicity of Hellman's strategies will be refreshing to some, but could seem a little flimsy to others.

But the key to appreciating this book is to take it for what it is. It's a treasure-trove compendium of techniques, rather than a heavy academic or technical tome, and if you accept that at the outset, then you won't be disappointed by it.

Another potential minus is the humor that pops up relentlessly on almost every page. Although this adds an appealing lightness of touch, it can get a little trying, and even distracting sometimes. The same is true of the many personal anecdotes peppered throughout the book. These add interest, but do sometimes overshadow the substance of the points being made.

In the main, though, this is a genuinely useful and very approachable book. And if you've ever had trouble getting other people to tune in when you speak, "You've Got 8 Seconds" will help you build a kit of easy, actionable strategies for getting yourself heard loud and clear.

We happily recommend this book.

"You've Got 8 Seconds," by Paul Hellman, is published by the American Management Association.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.