Why can a 6-year-old remember every line from an animated feature, while adults have difficulty remembering key points from a business presentation? Look no further than the knowledge of timing.
Film makers, playwrights and successful televangelists know something the average person doesn’t – HOW PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION.
Throughout the day our mind absorbs information in “uptime” and then processes it in “downtime”. The natural cycle of attention falls between 30 and 55 seconds. To hold attention, you must match these natural attention patterns.
So, I charted the animated version of “The Lion King” and remarkably, each scene was between 30 and 55 seconds in duration and the “level of engagement” (brightness, volume, and excitement) varied from scene to scene.
I found evidence of the same timing in music, from Gregorian chants dating back to the 9th century, through Vivaldi, Mozart, and The Beatles.
Most speakers today communicate their message with “too many notes”.
