Chapter 4 Reflections: They Snooze You Lose by Lynell Burmark

I would say that in the last 20 years, our society has become the most distracted society in the history of the world. We are bombarded constantly with images, information, and sounds. Sitting in my living room, I am typing on my laptop, while a streaming video plays through the television, my cell phone by my side, and my son walks through with his ipod connected to his head. If a time traveler from the 1700’s were to travel to 2012, they might think we were part machine because of our gadgets. Presenters have the daunting task of not only getting the audience’s attention, but then keeping it. Burmark uses the analogy of Velcro when talking about “hooking” the audience and drawing them in (Burmark, 2011, Kindle Location 1392). Having a “hook” is great, but you have to be able to keep them there for the duration. Burmark uses the acronym, CHIMES to describe the different ways to capture and keep the audience’s attention (Burmark, 2011, Kindle Location 1432). All of this great advice can seem to be a bit overwhelming to think about when creating a presentation, but I like how she is realistic about it in saying, “you can pick a few now and learn about the others later”(Burmark, 2011, Kindle Location 1438).

Burmark, Lynell (2011-06-28). They Snooze, You Lose: The Educator's Guide to Successful Presentations (Kindle Location 1392, 1432, and 1438). John Wiley and Sons. Kindle Edition.