How long can you sit quietly and pay attention before you become distracted?
Attention spans are universally decreasing, thanks to our media-rich environment. According to experts, there are two types of listening:
- Listening with retention means listening without being distracted andcommitting the information to memory. Under ideal conditions, adults can listen with retention for up to 10 minutes.
- Listening with comprehension means listening without becoming distracted. It’s possible for adults to listen with comprehension up to 20 minutes.
We also know listeners’ attention is best at the beginning of a session and decreases from that point.
If you work with people, this is really important: The longer we talk, the less people pay attention. Regardless of whether 60-minute meetings and half-day trainings become a thing of the past, this information should inform what we cover and the order in which we present it.
If you’re wondering if anything can be conveyed effectively in such a short time, think about this historical example: In November 1863, the public was invited to hear famed orator Edward Everett eulogize the Union soldiers at the cemetery dedication at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, followed by remarks by President Lincoln to close the ceremony.
Everett’s Gettysburg Oration was a 2-hour speech about warfare, heroism, and the gallantry of the Union army. At its close, the audience applauded enthusiastically before settling back to listen to the president. Lincoln rose and delivered 10 sentences – the Gettysburg Address – in two minutes. Afterwards, there was no applause: the crowd appeared to be stunned.
Today, few people have heard of the Gettysburg Oration, but the Gettysburg Address is recognized as one of the best speeches ever made. Everett was one of the first to recognize its brilliance. The next day, he wrote to Lincoln: “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”
We don’t need to spend a lot of time to make an important point. Brevity is a powerful and underused communication tool!
Fun fact: There is only one confirmed photograph of Lincoln at Gettysburg. In the early days of photography, it took several minutes to set up a shot. The cameramen assumed, as everyone had, that Lincoln would speak at least an hour. By the time they realized his speech was over, it was too late to take a picture.