Chapter 4 of Lynell Burmark (2011) introduces six elements to acquire the audience’s attention. The acronym CHIMES as introduced by the author helps presenters prioritize attention getters during a presentation. To increase efficiency and improve effectiveness, the presenter must hook the audience and keep the audience’s interest. However, caution is addresses to the type of attention generated as it may hinder the presentation. The author refers to Dick Bolles’s Prioritizing Grid to help understand and determine what is most important. The CHIMES elements introduced by the author to hook an audience include: connections, humor, images, music, emotion and senses. Making connections include relating to the audience—meaningful. The use of humor to connect the content, if adequately use, will help audiences remember the message conveyed during the presentation. Furthermore, the use of images or illustrations can enhance retention and learning if the image relates to the message transmitted. Other elements to capture attention include the use of music, emotion and the use of senses.
Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze you Lose. Chapter 4. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.