The Hammock: How Attention Really Works

Think about the last presentation you sat through.

How much of it do you actually remember?

Probably the beginning.

Maybe the end.

And a lot less of the middle.

I call this The Hammock.

Imagine a hammock hanging between two trees.

It’s high at both ends and sags in the middle.

Our attention often works the same way.

At the beginning of a presentation, attention is relatively high.

It’s new.

We’re curious.

We’re wondering where this is going.

Then attention starts to drop.

We get comfortable.

Our mind wanders.

We think about an email.

Lunch.

Something we need to do later.

Then, as the presentation gets close to the end, attention comes back up.

We hear:

“To wrap up…”

“In conclusion…”

“One last thing…”

And suddenly we’re listening again.

That creates a problem if you’re presenting.

Because most people put the important stuff in the middle.

They start with introductions.

Then background.

Then company history.

Then information.

Then more information.

And somewhere deep in the hammock is the thing they really wanted people to remember.

So design your presentation differently.

Put something important at the beginning.

Create moments throughout the middle that bring people back.

Ask a question.

Tell a story.

Change the activity.

Get people talking.

Make them do something.

Then finish with the thing you most want them to remember.

You can’t demand someone’s attention for 30 or 60 minutes.

You have to keep earning it.

So next time you’re preparing a presentation, look at the hammock.

Ask yourself:

Where will attention drop?

And what are you going to do to bring it back?