One of the biggest challenges that teachers face is gaining and keeping student attention. Luckily, there are several different strategies that you can use to help get students focused on learning and listening to you!
Attention getters are a great way to redirect students when they’re off-task and need you to direct them back. They are oral, visual, or auditory cues that draw students’ attention to you so that you can deliver a message.
Humor
Humor can be a great way to grab an audience’s attention. However, it’s important to use humor with care and make sure that it’s relevant to your audience’s needs and interests.
The best material comes from real-life experiences and situations that you and your audience can relate to. These include things that happened to you or your family, an event in the news, or something that your audience may have seen on TV or heard about in a newspaper.
Westerners and Easterners have very different attitudes toward humor. Specifically, Westerners see humor as a desirable trait of an ideal self and associate it with positivity. On the other hand, Easterners have ambivalent views on humor. Moreover, Easterners tend to use less aggressive but more affiliative humor than Westerners.
Statistics
One of the most effective ways to engage an audience is to provide them with a tidbit that’s interesting enough to get their attention. It’s also a good idea to use eye-catching graphics and visuals when possible. Using the right type of PowerPoint, for example, can ensure that your speech is delivered in the most engaging way possible.
Most teachers can agree that a little bit of sparkle is a must when trying to hold the attention of a class full of kids. Luckily, there are several tools and tricks of the trade that will help you achieve the desired results in no time. The best way to go about it is to first devise a plan that is relevant to your classroom needs and then execute it accordingly. With the right strategy in place, you can have a happy and productive class, no matter what the circumstances. You might even have the time of your life.
Relevance
An attention getter is a signal that a teacher uses to gain students’ attention. They can be verbal or non-verbal, and they are especially useful when a teacher needs to communicate directions or instructions to a group of students.
One of the most important aspects of choosing an attention getter is relevance. A speaker should select an attention-getting device that is relevant to their speech topic.
For example, a speech on the economy might not be appropriate for a speaker who pulled condoms out of their pocket and threw them at the audience at the beginning.
Another way to gain your audience’s attention is to use a statistic or startling fact. This is a great way to pique your audience’s interest in the topic of your speech, and it can also be used to add credibility to your argument or persuade your audience to think differently about a given issue.
Finally, a good attention-getting device should connect your topic to something that the audience is familiar with or positively invested in. This can be as simple as a personal story or experience.
Tone
There are a number of attention getters that you can use to help you grab your students’ attention. The key is to use these techniques as frequently as possible to establish them as a habit, so they become automatic.
When choosing an attention getter, you need to consider its appropriateness, effectiveness, and connectedness. You want the attention getter to contribute to the overall message of your speech and to fit with your tone as a speaker.
One way to do this is by using a quote from someone who relates to the topic you are speaking on. This can be someone who is well-known or simply a reputable figure in the community.
Another way to attract audience attention is by asking a question that elicits an answer or thought from the audience. An example would be, “Have you ever wondered why Prohibition-era mobs were so powerful?” This is a great question that is thought-provoking and can open up some interpretation for the audience.