Shorter Attention Spans Aren’t to Blame at Your Conference

Disclaimer: This article was originally posted on LinkedIn. 

Is this your 5-minute scroll break? 📱

You’re not alone.

We can probably all relate to the itch to check your social media while in the middle of a time-intensive task.

We’re seeing this play out in events, too.

Keynote sessions with only a quarter of the attendees paying attention. 🥱

Everyone on their phones during breaks. 🤳

Are attention spans actually shrinking? And how do we get people to pay attention to the content we’ve so meticulously planned out? Is it so dire as to take away everyone’s phones while onsite? Let's dive into it.

Attention Spans Are Indeed Shrinking

No surprise: attention spans are decreasing. 📉

In fact, they’ve dropped from 2.5 minutes to 45 seconds in the past 20 years.

Ask any of your friends or family how much time they can spend on a task, and they’ll likely tell you that it’s not very long. That phone is always calling to them.

Of course, we hate to blame one thing.

But how many times do you have the urge to pick up your phone in a day? Check your email? Scroll social media? Read your favorite article by me (no?)

A recent study showed that people think they check their phone around 25 times per day, but that the actual number is closer to 80. On average, people check email 77 times and Facebook 21 times a day during the workday. That’s a lot of time spent on our devices.

And we’re pushing our brains toward shorter-form content. It’s the norm now to see mostly short-form and skimmable content.

Even this article is written to make sure you can skim quickly and absorb without much effort.

What does that mean for events?

Shorter attention spans are affecting how we design and manage events. And it’s certainly a challenge for companies to determine the right path forward.

Should We Blame Our Attendees?

Absolutely not.

We can’t expect to demand our attendees to come to our conferences and then consume our content in the way we want them to. Instead, we should be working continuously to meet our attendees where they are and make sure we’re tailoring content and agendas to fit their needs.

It’ll make our attendees happier and ultimately our events more successful.

Let’s talk through some strategies for improving your conferences in the face of increasing distractions and waning attention.

Strategies to Improve Attention at Conferences

With so much digital content today, in-person events typically have a better chance of capturing attention. But it’s still difficult to accomplish.

People are being bombarded by information from all angles – and they’re going to be on their phones whether you like it or not.

The demands of work, the draw of social media, the endless group chats.

Old event formats don’t work for today’s attendee.

Here are some things that do. 👍

Consider the TikTok & WFH Effect

TikTok and all the social media platforms that followed its lead have set the tone for how we consume content today.

Your events should take note.

Think of your experience on social media.

• Shorter content ✅
• Visual content ✅
• Videos ✅

It’s all content that creates a dopamine hit.

How can you format your events to follow suit?

This can look like shorter sessions sprinkled into your agenda paired with video and visual-first presentations. High-energy sessions to break up the content. Several small activations throughout the event space instead of large general session rooms.

Get that Wellness Boost

There is a major relationship between physical fitness and attention. And a major lack of movement during events (besides walking between sessions).

Wellness is making a major splash at events, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.

• Build in time for people to move!
• Give them intentional breaks to get outside or even just stretch
• Schedule workouts or yoga sessions

People can’t pay attention to your content because they aren’t given an opportunity to decompress and enjoy some time away from the session space.

Let’s change that!

And don’t forget the importance of sleep. Well-rested attendees have a much better chance of focusing than those lacking the 💤's.

Do you need late events or super early mornings? Maybe it’s best to give that time back to your attendees, so you can have their full attention while they’re onsite.

Make Sure Your Content is Actually Interesting

We hate to say it, but so much conference content is a drag.

Social media content? Now that’s interesting.

If you want to keep your audience’s attention, you need to spend a lot of time on refining your content.

Your sessions can be short and quick, but if they’re boring, they won’t work.

In contrast, longer sessions can be incredibly powerful if they’re entertaining.

It's all about making your content interesting. 💭

Here are some lessons you can implement:

• Keep it simple – but don’t dumb it down: Simplified language will help engage, but make sure you’re appealing to your audience
• Make it interactive: Active learning is a great way to keep attendees engaged
• Keep things visual: Videos, imagery, even your own movement on the stage
• Make your content unique: Don’t just repeat something they could learn online from their couch.
  

Weave In Helpful Sessions

Many of us are aware that attention spans are waning. Why not address it at your conference?

We’ve had clients be very successful in offering sessions unrelated to their core business (e.g. personal finance sessions).

Consider offering some opportunities for attendees to learn about mindfulness, attention spans, problem-solving, and more.

Not only will they learn new skills, but they’ll be able to apply them to your next keynote. 😉

Use Best Practices for Content Length

We’ve talked a lot about leveraging learnings from TikTok for your sessions.

But that’s not to say you should just make a hundred 5-minute sessions and call it a day. That is not only chaotic, but it’s also not very effective.

There are millions of recommendations around ideal session length, and what we’d tell you is to understand your attendees first (more on that later).

But for consideration, here are a few recommendations we’ve seen around the internet:

• TedTalk approach: No longer than 18 minutes, making sure to hit on the best points to make your argument stronger
• Pomodoro Technique: Bursts of 20 minutes of productivity with 5 minutes of rest
• LinkedIn voices recommendations: Around 45-60 minutes for keynotes (this is also recommended for class length)
• 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30+ point font

We recommend finding a good mix of lengths for your sessions.

• Some longer-form sessions
• Several short-form sessions (maybe in an interactive space where people can hop around to different sessions)
• Quick-hit conversations / round tables
• Interactive sessions

Toss the 3-hour keynote sessions. We all know everyone hates them. 🥱

Reduce Distractions

Do you actually need that event app?

I would argue no. We’re seeing these go by the wayside anyway.

That app is just an excuse for someone to open their phone and start scrolling. It may actually work against what you want.

I’m sure you’ve also seen “unplugged” wedding ceremonies. Will that start to make its way into the corporate world?

(Just for fun, should we try taking everyone’s phones before a keynote? They may turn around and walk out…)

Understand Your Audience!

All of these recommendations should be underlined by the importance of understanding your attendees.

Nothing will work well unless you truly understand their preferences and interests.

• Are they primarily desk workers who are used to sitting for long periods of time?
• Are they people who are moving around during the course of their day?
• What is interesting to them?

Pre-surveys can be incredibly helpful here to understand what formats they’re interested in and what they want to get out of your conference.

And as always, try out new things and get feedback from your attendees. You’ll continue to refine things as you host your event year-over-year.

Do Shorter Attention Spans Mean the End for Traditional Events?

We’d argue that events are stronger than ever. The desire to meet people in person and gain knowledge in a group setting is unmatched.

The traditional conference setting will continue to grow stronger, and more companies will refine what works and what doesn’t.

We’re excited about the future of events and blending what we learn from social media into the in-person world.

Do you have any recommendations for appealing to the modern conferencegoer? What’s worked at your events?