6 Proven Ways to Captivate Readers
No tricks or gimmicks needed to reel people into your personal stories or thought leadership pieces
The BBC published a fascinating article a few years ago entitled, The Dying Art of the Great Song Intro.
In the 80s, on average, lead singers of bands didn’t sing their first lyric until more than 20 seconds into the song. However, when the article was published in 2017, that number dropped to five seconds — and I have a hard time imagining that ship has since turned.
Whether we agree with it or not, hooks matter. If you don’t grab people’s attention in the first few sentences, they’ll move on to the next shiny title.
One of the best parts of having a catalog of past stories and articles is that patterns emerge regarding the techniques that work best for us.
Over the last five years, I’ve given 100+ storytelling workshops to universities, businesses, and creator communities. By learning how to grab people’s attention (and of course, keep it), I’ve been asked to help out on numerous best-selling books, landed a book deal of my own, and work as a strategy consultant for entrepreneurs and executives who want to build a stronger relationship with their audience.
