Keep Your Audience GLUED To Your Presentation - A Bizarre Method

Imagine a trick you can use where the audience can’t HELP but pay attention to your presentation.

Almost like they’re in a trance!

Sounds a bit cult-y, I know.

Bear with me here - this will get a bit weird.

Firstly,

Meet Chickpea, my cat.

She’s a bit camera shy.

Here’s the thing about Chickpea: it’s hard to get her to pay attention to anything.

She’s got loads of toys, but she loves nothing more than lying on her bum and doing nothing.

But we need to get her to move around and exercise.

So we found a possible solution.

We bought one of these laser pointers for Chickpea.

The effect it had on her was INCREDIBLE.

SHE WAS OBSESSED.

She would look everywhere for it.
She would run around the whole house chasing it down.
She would become her most primal cat-self when playing with this laser.

It’s like the entire world shut down around her and all she could pay attention was the laser.

She was in a complete trance.

Now here’s what inspired me about this…

… what if…

.. we could have that same effect on our audience when we speak?

What if we can do something while we present that captivate the full focus and attention of our audience to such an extent that they couldn’t focus on anything other than what we’re saying.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

That’s right!

A laser pointer, but for humans!!

… I’m kidding. No, that’s not what I’m getting it.
(But maybe I’ll take this idea to Shark Tank…)

But here’s what you can do to captivate an audience with the same trance-like effect. (It’s not illegal, don’t worry)

I call it ‘The Magician Effect’

Think of a magician beginning to demonstrate a trick.

What do people do the moment a magician starts their trick?

People think:

“Oh I bet I can figure this out.”
“Wait, what are they going to do with this trick?”
“I want to see how they are going to pull this off.”

There is an inherent curiosity because of ‘what’s going on’.

There is suspense, there is build up, and there is a pay off.

How can you do the same thing during your presentations?

- Promise

Make a promise that the audience will learn something that they are very interested in, and demonstrate something that takes time to unfold and understand fully.

Think of a product like ‘Scrub Daddy’.

“In the next 30 seconds, I’ll show you how you can remove the greasiest stain off your dishes with no more than 2 scrubs.” Then proceed to show how it works.

Now the audience wants to watch the whole thing to see how you deliver on the promise.

You can use the promise for anything: Corporate presentations, sales and product demos, storytelling and lessons.

People are too invested to look away.

- Demonstrate

The other element at play here is the use of a prop. When you bring something or show something that is out of the ordinary or the audience doesn’t immediately understand, they’re thinking.

“Wait - what role does this item play in what they’re going to talk about today?”

Here’s an example of a professor using a bicycle wheel to demonstrate physics:

The audience is thinking: What the heck does this wheel have to do with physics? Like a magic trick - they tune in to know the answer.

and the last element at play is called an

-‘Open Loop’

Create a gap in your audience’s understanding of a subject so that it creates tension, they need to know the answer in order to be satisfied.

Think of someone giving you a riddle to solve:

“Cloaked in silence, I face a crowd, yet not a word I say aloud. I come to life with your command, a vessel for your voice to expand. What am I?”

… now imagine you take 2 minutes to think of the answer… they never give you the answer.

Wouldn’t it kill you inside?

This is what an Open Loop does. You want to create the loop by posing a question in the audience’s mind and close the loop by answering it, during and towards the end of your speech.

The Open Loop is best implemented by using a ‘Hook’ at the start of a speech.

Here are a few examples in different contexts:

“I failed at quitting sugar for 30 years but this one supplement cured my addition in 48 hours”

“My wife left me. Here’s the text I sent her that fixed our marriage.”

“You know all those spam emails you keep getting? Imagine getting rid of them all with one click. Here’s how”

See how it creates open loops in your mind about what happens next?

Marketers, storytellers, and the best presenters use this trick all the time.

Think: “How can I create an experience in my presentation where they can’t HELP but pay attention because it’s so fascinating and unique.


If a giraffe walked into the boardroom, you bet your audience will be paying attention.

Think how you can do the same thing … without having to import a giraffe.

If you want to learn more about this technique,

On Friday, March 15th

Craig Valentine, the former World Champion of Public Speaking will be hosting a QnA Training with my private community members.