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Undivided attention

Could it be that you underestimate your abilities?

According to Steve Morse that’s very likely. He’s one of the best guitarists alive, not a household name but every guitarist knows him. Morse is famous for working incredibly hard and pushing things to the extreme while making them feel easy.

In a recent interview he said that even the best musicians tend to underestimate their abilities.

His full answer is fascinating:

Another thing I learned being a band leader is that musicians underestimate their ability. Even really good musicians. They would often say: “Let me work on that at home.”

I say: “How about this? Give me five minutes, just five minutes of your undivided attention, and let’s just see where we are.”

And I would show him that 16 bar difficult part in five minutes by breaking it down and they would be able to play it. Maybe not at the exact tempo, but they would have it.

Almost universally, five minutes of attention can bring anybody doing anything to a higher level of understanding. So why is it so hard for us to give five minutes?

That very much matches my experience. Spend just five minutes learning something and everything changes. It might be reading, watching a tutorial, thinking something through, practicing something, or speaking it through with an expert.

These five minutes change everything.

How often do you do that?
And, honestly now, how often do you find yourself glossing over it, postponing it, or simply moving on to the next thing?

Keep lighting the path!

PS: If you’re willing to invest four hours, imagine what a Clarity Lab can do for you.

What deserves their attention?

Stop asking how to get their attention.
Start asking if you deserve it.

For decades, businesses thought they had a simple answer:
Pay a salary, and you’ve earned someone’s time.
Give them a job, and you’ve earned their attention.
Put your logo on the wall, and they’ll follow your lead.

But it doesn’t work that way anymore.
Maybe it never really did.

People don’t give you their best thinking because of a paycheck.
They give it when they care.
When your message speaks to what matters to them.
When the goals feel like our goals, not just your goals.

If your words only reflect your own agenda,
all they’ll give you is compliance.
At best.

But if your words aligns with their personal ambitions,
you’ll earn something much more valuable.
Their trust. Their energy. Their ideas.

So instead of:
“How do I get their attention?”

… the more useful question is:
“What kind of leader deserves it?”

Keep lighting the path.

How to get heard

In a busy room, the instinct is often to fight for the attention.

Say more.
Say it louder.
Repeat it until they can’t ignore it.

But noise is not the enemy.
Indifference is.

People aren’t ignoring you because they didn’t hear you.
They’re ignoring you because your message adds to the noise.

Another “My take” against all the other My-takes.

It doesn’t simplify.
It doesn’t help them decide.
It doesn’t make the choice easier.

Strong messages don’t compete for attention.
They create focus.
They help people see what matters.
In a way they can align with.

Stop persuading harder.
Start resonating stronger.

Keep lighting the path!

Get people’s attention

You’ve been told to get people’s attention.

As if that was the hard part …

But attention is cheap.
Everyone gets attention – for a second.
(If in doubt, throw money at the problem.)

But what happens after they notice you?
That’s where most messages die.

Picture a crowded room.
Voices everywhere.
(Could be LinkedIn, your meeting room, …)
Someone raises their voice, loud and sharp.

For a moment, everyone turns their heads.
But they’re already asking themselves:

→ “Do I trust where this is going?”
→ “Do I believe you see what I see?”
→ “Do I feel this is going to be relevant?”

If the answer is no, it doesn’t matter how polished your words sound.

People turn away again.

Because attention was never the actual problem.
It’s what happens after you get it.

How would your communication change if,
instead of fighting for attention, you focused on
earning their trust for what comes next.

Perhaps by showing, in every word, that
you understand their reality better than anyone else.

When they feel that, they lean in.
You’ve got their attention.
But more importantly, you’ve got their permission to guide them.

Keep lighting the path!

Why customers shop around

The moment your customers feel seen, they stop shopping around.

When you realize this, it’s no wonder that customers keep their eyes open for alternatives.

They don’t feel seen.

Because the business is busy speaking about themselves.
Occupying the spotlight.
Positioning themselves as the hero.
Trying to get attention.

When all the customer needs is to feel seen.

That’s the irony: The best way to get attention is to pay attention.

While focusing on yourself leaves customers feeling ignored.

That’s why the so-called love brands start with listening.

It means they can stop persuading and start resonating.

Instead of churning out yet another ad, why not call one of your customers today and have a raw conversation?

Many of my clients have called that a breakthrough moment. It cuts the countless hours spent in meetings guessing what they would say by knowing what they do say.

Leaders who listen create brands people swear by, not just shop from.

What’s a brand that makes you feel seen? How do they achieve that?

Keep lighting the path!

You’ve got my attention

I give you permission to use a chunk of my attention.
However, you must choose between two options:

Option #1:
You can get 30 minutes but you have to fill it with 30 ideas of one minute each. 

Option #2:
You can get 10 minutes but you have to fill it with one idea and one idea only. 

Many businesses instinctively pick option 1. 
But is this a smart choice?

Which of the two do you think has a better chance of intriguing me?
Which one is more likely to get me to engage in a conversation?
Which one will stick with me for longer?

What would you pick?

Who do you trust with your attention?

Your phone?
Instagram?
Your colleague?
That keynote speaker?
The author of the book you’re reading?

It’s an eye opening exercise to make a list of all the permissions you’ve given someone (or something) today to manage where your attention goes. Or last week.

The post you’ve just read on social media. They present you with a thought. You engage with it. But why did you read it?

Who decided that this thought deserves your attention?

The video you watched.
The conversation you had.
The message you checked.

Why did you wacht it? Have it? Check it?

Who gets to decide where your attention goes?

We like to think that it’s us.

But could it be that we delegate that decision more often than we’re comfortable to admit?

On the flip side, if someone grants you permission to manage their attention, for example because they’re sitting in the audience listening to your speech, what do you do with that permission?

Do you handle that permission responsibly? Share a story that’s relevant? Perhaps even helpful?

Have you ever caught yourself giving away your attention without realizing it? Would love to hear your take on that.

The first minute

What use is a 30 minute time slot if people tune out after the first minute?

I can’t count the number of complaints I’ve heard throughout my career about …

why audiences aren’t more patient … 
how the showmen steal attention …
how unfair that is …

But the truth is pretty simple:
Your audience owes you nothing.
Certainly not their attention.

If you think your story is worth hearing, then it’s your job to make it worth listening to.

Personally, I think there’s an ever better take: Why would I not want to make it as entertaining as possible? From the very first second! It really is in my best interest.

I think the confusion comes from mistaking interesting and entertaining for clickbait and nonsense. You definitely want to avoid the latter. But it’s a huuuuuge stretch between the two. There’s a lot of attention to gain without becoming sneaky.

In fact, audiences love intelligent takes, thoughtful questions, and surprisingly new perspectives. And they love them from the very first second.

They are more than happy to pay for it with their attention.

I’d even argue that we need to offer them an alternative to the sneaky attention seekers. And it’s not complaints! It’s truthful and interesting talks that are also entertaining and fun.

If your story really is worth hearing, I’d take any bet that you can achieve that.

It‘s not only in your best interest but also in your audience’s. You’ll end up with their attention. They’ll end up with your insights.

The attention is yours to grab.

Grab it!

Split Attention

This principle has served me well in the past:
Don’t split your attention!

I don’t check my phone when in a conversation. I don’t chat when watching a movie. I don’t listen to new music when writing, I don’t read when I listen to new music, I don’t clean the kitchen while listening to a podcast, etc.

On the flip side, if I feel that what I’m currently doing doesn’t deserve my full attention, I very much prefer looking for something that does …

… rather than split the attention with a second thing.

What’s your approach?

The megaphone

You’re handed a megaphone. You can say whatever you want.
What do you choose to say?

Everyone around you will hear it.
But that, of course, is no guarantee that they will listen.

The only thing that’s certain is that they will hear it.

What do you think will make them listen?

What do you think will make them pause?
What will make them come closer?
Or pass your message along?

This, essentially, is public speaking.
Only that you’re handed a microphone in place of a megaphone.

What do you choose to say?

Spread the Word

Picture of Dr. Michael Gerharz

Dr. Michael Gerharz