BY JEFF CORBETT
The famous Austrian surgeon Dr.Theodor Billroth used to tell his students that a doctor needed two abilities: freedom from nausea, and the power of observation.
Then he’d dip his finger into a bitterly foul liquid — lick it off — and ask each student to do the same.
One by one, the students would taste the liquid, many of whom almost retched at the taste.
Then with a grin, Dr. Billroth would say, “You have passed one test, but not the other. For none of you noticed that while I dipped my first finger into the liquid, I licked the second.”
Your Attention, Please
In “The Attention Economy,” Thomas Davenport and John Beck argue that attention is the new currency of business. If you can’t gain someone’s attention, you’re stopped in your tracks.
The magic of getting and keeping someone’s attention in today’s overcommunicated world can be done rather easily, here’s how:
Everyone you know, including you, has five letters tattooed on their forehead – “WII-FM.”
No, it’s not a radio station. So what does WII-FM stand for?
It is “What’s In It For Me?”
If you answer this in a compelling way, letting them know how they will gain or benefit, they will give your their full attention!
Another attention trap you will encounter is a concept coined by Linda Stone, a software executive who worked at Apple and Microsoft. The term is “continuous partial attention.”
She defines it as “constantly keeping busy, keeping tabs on everything while never truly focusing on anything.”
Most people never give you their full attention, as their mind is overwhelmed by media, the internet, commercials, electronic billboards, texts, and cell phone calls.
Be the change you wish to make. Start giving others 100 percent of your attention, but know going in that it will take major focus and will power!
A key skill to giving your complete attention is eliminating or ignoring distractions when you’re listening to someone.
“Training & Development” magazine shared how the young Tiger Woods’ dad, Earl, would try to startle the golfer while he was focusing on his shot. Over time, Tiger became oblivious to the distractions, which was his father’s goal.
The Attention-Killer
Why are we so poor at giving attention? It’s the multi-tasking that’s become our way of life, along with its negative effects.
A study by the University of Michigan found that 20 to 40 percent of a worker’s productivity is consumed by “task-switching,” the time it takes to mentally re-engage when shifting from one task to another.
Teens are the all-time champions of multi-tasking. A Kaiser Foundation study found they consume 8½ hours of media each day, but they do it in only 6½ hours due to some serious multi-tasking!
How? They’re watching TV, doing homework, texting, listening to music, and surfing the web all at once.
Your phone is a major culprit affecting your attention span, preventing you from enjoying the moment, the here-and-now.
We live and die by the ding of a new text message, and the phone that never sleeps.
Using a cell phone while driving significantly increases the risk of a crash, with studies showing a fourfold increase in the likelihood of crashing, and even higher risks for specific activities like texting or dialing.
Multi-tasking compromises attention. How truly effective are you when you multi-task?
Vow to focus more, and slow down the frantic pace, to savor more of every day.
Attention is Appreciation
“The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated,” said American philosopher William James.
To be the recipient of someone’s attention has many benefits.
In a speech to New York Life agents, Dr. Henry S. Lodge shared this story as proof:
There was a laboratory experiment using rabbits on how cholesterol affects our arteries.
Imagine this room full of rabbits in cages, from floor to ceiling, and scientists would give them all big doses of cholesterol. However, they were stumped by one finding.
The rabbits in the lower cages had less cholesterol build-up in their arteries than the rabbits in the higher cages, but all had been given the same dose.
Like good scientists, in an effort to find out why, they put the higher rabbits down in the lower cages and vice-versa, then repeated the test. Same results, as the new lower rabbits fared better with less build-up.
They came to find out the cleaning lady loved animals, and each night she would take rabbits out of the cages, petting and talking to them. But here’s the catch … she was short, and could only reach the lower cages.
It was the attention, love, and respect she gave that bolstered the held rabbits.
We all hunger to be heard, appreciated, and understood.
Starting today, give the gift of your complete attention. It will change lives, starting with yours.
Jeff Corbett is an experienced public speaker, meeting facilitator and sales and marketing professional. He lives in Statesville. He can be reached at jeff@speak-well.com.