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Ask HN: Any resources you recommend on capturing and holding peoples attention?

• tsegratis 5y ago
  Tell life stories. An early one for me: The axe slammed into the door, making the wooden hut shudder. My friends were inside asleep, and the rebels had come to attack.... G.B. you too
  • tsegratis 5y ago
    A story is often presented as: Problem --> Solution Place the problem first, the suspense -- grab them and capture their interest with that, like a mystery novel. Then they will know why they're on the journey with you Also, know your first and last sentence. Here is a more recent example of mine: My friend's son was cutting himself with a knife. His mother was screaming "Yes! Finish the job. We want to be free of you." My friend prayed "God, please make this stop." Immediately a voice shouted their names from the street ... Last sentence wrap-up: Only through perfect sacrifice can I know perfect love. This we find in Jesus -- perfect assurance, perfect peace And here's a photo of my friend, his son, daughter, wife; a couple of days after embracing his son
    • titusblair 5y ago
      Where did you get these sentences from, was it a book?
  • titusblair 5y ago
    Great this is an excellent sentence lol! Thanks so much for your input!
• open-source-ux 5y ago
  Patrick Winston (1943-2019) was a computer scientist at MIT. Every year he gave a popular talk titled How to Speak. In the talk he explains effective techniques to hold your audience's attention. Here is a recording of the talk from 2018: How To Speak by Patrick Winston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY He also published a book of his insights in 2020 titled Make It Clear: Speak and Write to Persuade and Inform. Many of the examples in the book have an emphasis on speaking in an academic or teaching setting. However, there are good insights that anyone can learn from.
  • titusblair 5y ago
    Thanks so much I will check it out!