Captivology

In this book, journalist and investor Ben Parr analyzes the drivers of attention. By way of introduction, he observes that our capacity for attention is increasingly restricted, due to infobesity and the multitude of companies and individuals competing for this scarce resource. To get your ideas or proposals noticed, he identifies seven attention triggers, each more or less adapted depending on whether you want to capture immediate attention, focus it over the short term or establish a sustainable following. Each chapter covers an attention trigger and gives tips to transpose it to your particular context. Some of these tips rely on common sense, while others are more counter-intuitive or thought-provoking. For example, although the color red is known to attract attention, are the unconscious associations with this color the ones you desire? How far do you need to go in contradicting the expectations of your audience to gain and maintain their attention? Etc. The author’s message is supported by scientific experiments and peppered with personal anecdotes and examples from the business world. This book offers a wealth of interesting lessons for all those who want to draw attention to their proposal, their idea, their project or even themselves.