Surviving the Horror of Distractions

- by Brian Tarallo

“How do we know if everyone’s actually paying attention?”
You don’t. You won’t. You can’t. And it’s not your job to make sure adults pay attention. You are not a grade school teacher. Be like Elsa. Let it go.

Don’t want distractions? Ask for them to be removed!

Don’t want distractions? Ask for them to be removed!

Since you’re working with adults, there are a few things you can do to keep participants’ engagement high and distractions low.

Be interesting. It sounds simple, but design the experience to be engaging and interactive. No one wants to be talked at or have a PowerPoint read to them. Distraction is just one click away. If you’re less interesting than someone’s email, you’re probably going to lose them.

Ask to remove distractions. There’s nothing wrong with asking your participants to consciously remove a distraction. You might say, “Please remove anything that might distract you from being fully present and engaged during our time together. This could mean closing a door, hanging a Do Not Disturb sign, turning off a phone, closing other windows, shutting down email, or anything else that might be competing for your attention. Before we begin, take a moment and remove a distraction.” Make this request as people arrive.

Ask for engagement. “During our time together, we’re going to discuss items that are important for our organization. I’m inviting you to be fully present and engaged. Your attention and informed decision making is crucial to our success. Please be mindful of the focus of your attention during our time together is as effective as possible.”

Monitoring for distraction treats participants like school children. Making requests treats adults like adults.

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Influence When You’re Not In Charge