When marketing folks and professional communicators like me wag our fingers at clients and declare that their prospects have short attention spans and selfish motives, we’re not kidding.  When we nag that you’ve got to catch their attention quickly, hold it just long enough, and then let go before they drift away, believe us.  We know…  because we’ve been on the other side….

I sat through a presentation today and wanted to crawl out of my skin.  My stomach was clenched in knots, my breathing was fast, and time slowed in dramatic fashion.  Had I not been sitting in the middle of the row in the middle of the room, I would have slipped out and been grateful for the additional 45 minutes of freedom I’d been given.

Here’s what I’ve realized.  I am an incredibly impatient communicator.  Note I said communicator, and not listener, because communication is a constant process and even as I’m listening, I’m also communicating.  Whether I’m reading or watching or listening, I need to find value early on, or I’m gone.  And that value has to be relevant to my day-to-day life, or my hopes and dreams, or my hot buttons, and not just some esoteric “all-for-the-greater-good” reward.

I am that easily distracted, often irritated, and usually rushed prospect my clients are trying to target.

If you’re going to request my attention and the time it will take for me to grasp your message, respect me.  Don’t talk down to me, don’t launch the hard sell, and don’t spend forever telling me what you’re going to tell me before you get around to finally telling me.  Don’t try to be funny if it isn’t natural and immediately connected.  Don’t bore me with the minutiae or read a list of features and benefits.  And by all means, keep it short and sweet, and help me see very quickly WIIFM!  Show me, don’t tell me, why I should care.  Learn about me so that I believe you empathize.  Offer me reasonable solutions for my pain and troubles, but don’t make promises that there’s no way you can keep.

You’ve got to connect with me on an emotional level.  You’ve got to establish credibility because you’ve been where I’ve been and felt how I’ve felt.  You’ve got to want the relationship more than the sale, and be ready to give away a lot for free to establish yourself as an expert with integrity who really does just want to help.

Face it.  There are too many messages to choose from, and too many ways for people to spend their time.  They don’t have to listen or pay attention to you, and won’t feel bad about tuning you out.  You get a moment to prove you’ve got something they might want, and then every nanosecond afterward needs to be spent building trust and demonstrating value, because without warning, your prospect or customer will be lured by another message.

If you don’t think the communication you deliver is critical to your success, you haven’t had me in your audience.   I AM the one you’ve been warned about.