Don’t ever start at the beginning

Horse-sense on Creating a compelling presentation, book, article…

You are in a dimly lit room. You are alone on a stage before an audience of 1,000. 10 minutes into your presentation, your hands no longer shake or sweat. This is going well, you think. But just then you notice a vaguely familiar sound–tap, tap, clickety-clack–which in one horrifying moment you recognize–it’s your audience. IMing, checking email, live blogging (“wifi sucks at this hotel and OMFG this is the most boring speaker ever”)

What went wrong? How did you lose them in the first 10 minutes? How can you get their attention?

Follow the link for some useful ideas on how to do better.