Attention is a Hot Commodity in Communication

In the past, getting time with someone has been seen as a path to success. You want five minutes with the boss or a prospective customer. You'd have the person's full attention and hopefully achieve your objective.

In today's world, you have a lot of factors competing for your target's attention. Sure, you may have a five minute meeting with the boss but is he or she looking at their email, answering cell phone calls, or typing on their Blackberry? Multi-tasking can become an addiction and you need to keep in mind that you may only have a slice of someone's focus. This can be especially bad when you're having a phone conversation. And how many companies have lost money because of a misunderstanding, especially those that can be traced back to poor communication?

When making your pitch, you need to make it shorter and more powerful to hold your prospect's attention. State what you want and why it is important. Do this right away. Ask questions to keep the other person engaged in the conversation. And above all, do not just talk and talk and talk. The more you speak, the easier it is for your subject to have their attention wander. If you have a history of getting to the point, then it's more likely that you'll be heard.