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Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention
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The former editor of Mashable and cofounder of DominateFund examines the psychological phenomena that captivate our attention—and how we can leverage them to draw and retain attention for our ideas, work, companies, and more.
Whether you’re an artist or a salesperson, a teacher or an engineer, a marketer or a parent—putting the spotlight on your ideas, insights, projects an ...more
Whether you’re an artist or a salesperson, a teacher or an engineer, a marketer or a parent—putting the spotlight on your ideas, insights, projects an ...more
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We live in a world where getting noticed is getting harder and harder. Whether we’re launching a start-up, trying to promote a book, or convincing people to read our blog, our targeted audience is bombarded with messages and information.
How do you stand out from the crowds?
Captivology (clever title by the way) is all about the science of capturing people’s attention, whatever you may need it for. It discusses seven ‘attention triggers’, more or less scientifically proven methods of getting notic ...more
How do you stand out from the crowds?
Captivology (clever title by the way) is all about the science of capturing people’s attention, whatever you may need it for. It discusses seven ‘attention triggers’, more or less scientifically proven methods of getting notic ...more
First - full disclosure Ben Parr is friend and we share many mutual friends and colleagues. So I’m far from unbiased (and also sorry it took me so long to give his book my full attention). That out of the way - I highly suggest that everyone but especially anyone seeking to sell (themselves, an idea, a product, or a company) read his book.
It is an excellent and thought provoking book that dives deeply into how and importantly why we give things our attention (and what helps us sustain that atte ...more
It is an excellent and thought provoking book that dives deeply into how and importantly why we give things our attention (and what helps us sustain that atte ...more
In his book Parr reveals his latest research on the psychology and neuroscience on what attracts consumers and convinces them to support certain areas of a business product or service. The goal of the book is to help you create effective advertising campaigns, deliver high quality presentations, delegate the right jobs to the right people, and bring your product to the attention of millions of prospects.
For your convenience, we had Ben Parr on our podcast, The Entrepreneurs Library, to give a de ...more
For your convenience, we had Ben Parr on our podcast, The Entrepreneurs Library, to give a de ...more
It held my attention. :D That speaks for itself.
Overview: Parr has collected together a tidy summary of research studies, triggers, and motivations that have an affect on people's attention. Without attention, we can't convey anything. The seven triggers are clearly explained with lots of examples and tips. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by an even-toned American accented young male speaker and is suitable for x2 speed and commuting.
Favourite quotes:
"First you need to elicit a reaction by being distinctive or disruptive. Once ...more
Favourite quotes:
"First you need to elicit a reaction by being distinctive or disruptive. Once ...more
A little dry so I increased the speed so I could listen more comfortably. Good examples that illustrates his key points. Even though I knew much of these concepts from previous books it served as a nice review. I like that he explains why certain strategies worked or failed. I am currently struggling with rewards/incentives and intrinsic motivation. This book helped me to understand why without superfluous explanations. If you are in management, a business owner, or a blogger I highly recommend
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Excellent book on navigating the attention economy. Well known behavioral research is used to support his points and very recent examples are given that are very relatable. It's a practical guide on the best investment of time, resources and creative efforts when trying to influence people and outcomes.
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Too technocratic.
I don't recommend this book. ...more
I don't recommend this book. ...more
Ben Parr's book about getting attention is an easy to read (actually a breeze) self-help that should benefit anyone who is into business, learning and development, communication, marketing and PR, and media.
There are many concepts, theories and research findings which he made very simple so you can understand and appreciate them easily. He writes like he is just giving you pointers and advise.
I have read several books with similar topics. This one ranks as one of the most satisfying read I have ...more
There are many concepts, theories and research findings which he made very simple so you can understand and appreciate them easily. He writes like he is just giving you pointers and advise.
I have read several books with similar topics. This one ranks as one of the most satisfying read I have ...more
Living in an "extroverted" world is challenging, especially if you are not naturally the "look at me" kind of person; however, the science of attention may help you figure out how to stay true to yourself and still get your point across. Captivology is written in an easy to follow style, most definitely a good read for those interested on attention triggers 101.
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This book provided a really good overview of various triggers we can use to get people's attention. Some triggers work for immediate attention, some for short term and some for long term. Some of them work together to create sustained attention from your audience. Lots of great stuff in here for marketers who want to think about the why behind capturing people's attention.
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Fascinating treatment of an essential topic
Well written, with clear and compelling data and memorable examples for every point. If getting and keeping the public's attention matters to you or your professional life, this is a must-read. ...more
Well written, with clear and compelling data and memorable examples for every point. If getting and keeping the public's attention matters to you or your professional life, this is a must-read. ...more
Well researched. Clear and concise.
A fascinating book. A quick read.
Interesting read about how to captivate an audience.
A long article expanded into book length. Some interesting ideas on getting the attention of an audience, but too much reliance on brain science to shore up Parr's lightweight prose.
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What makes things interesting to people, I don't recall much
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While I found the captivation triggers compelling, I felt many of the examples didn't jive with the explanations.
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Nov 06, 2020
Kate
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I loved it. It was a very insightful book made simple with lots of captivating examples and explanations.
10/10 would recommend 👍🏻
10/10 would recommend 👍🏻
This book really captured my attention and I found it very informative in understanding more about the American millennial generation. Some of his examples are extremely interesting, for instance a new start up actually organized a product event like a wedding. Though his basic principles in capturing attention may not be new, his examples engaged me to read the book word for word. That is rare, normally I only read the sections that interest me because there are so many books to read. The autho
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As some other reviewers have mentioned, there isn't much new here. But though I've come across most of what is within these pages in other books it doesn't hurt hearing it again with the specific focus upon what captures our attention.
One random and curious note, unlike every other author I've read on similar subjects, instead of constantly saying how evolution designed, developed, optimized, created, fashioned, shaped or caused this or that, he just simply says the brain developed or was hard- ...more
One random and curious note, unlike every other author I've read on similar subjects, instead of constantly saying how evolution designed, developed, optimized, created, fashioned, shaped or caused this or that, he just simply says the brain developed or was hard- ...more
This would be the perfect book to those who have no idea on the psychological aspects of keeping someone engaged-for anything. While most of it is pretty self-explanatory, the examples Parr used were pretty interesting because he used real time examples of big companies from back then & up to now; which either failed or succeeded in branding & marketing.
I recently started watching Gary Vaynerchuk’s YouTube videos, so I got excited coming across his name several times explaining the things I did ...more
I recently started watching Gary Vaynerchuk’s YouTube videos, so I got excited coming across his name several times explaining the things I did ...more
We all crave for people attention
another book trying to say it another way
interesting reads but nothing stay after reading
another book trying to say it another way
interesting reads but nothing stay after reading
An interesting book on the 7 factors that influence attention. I think it is more accurate to say these are factors that influence the broader field of behaviour rather than purely attention. Ben Parr is a good story teller & for that I would give him a 5. But his thinking is a little sloppy in terms of his mental models so giving him a net score of 4/5.
I found Captivology interesting but a little dry. It had some examples and it broke things down but it was more of a treatise than a story. If you like sociology, this book will probably appeal to you.
Really great book - it captivated me until the very end. I learned a lot of interesting ideas and thought the examples were point-on. Looking forward to looking into this author further.
Some good examples, but nothing new in here for me. A lot of research I have read elsewhere. If you're new to the topic it could be the perfect intro.
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Decent look at how to capture attention with what you write, say, design. Some cool insights from his experience but mostly grouping multiple sources and going psychological. Easy to read.
Ben nails this. Using the model of the "triggers" you really understand what captures people's attention, why it captures and what part of the human emotion it plays to.
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Ben Parr is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, investor, and expert on attention. He is the author of
Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention
. He is Co-founder and Managing Partner of DominateFund, an early-stage venture capital firm. Previously, he was Co-Editor and Editor-at-Large of Mashable and served as columnist for CNET.
Parr was named one of the top ten tech jo ...more
Parr was named one of the top ten tech jo ...more
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“There’s clearly a tendency for people to attempt multiple, simultaneous—as much as they can—activities,” said Dr. Adam Gazzaley, director of neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco.3 But research shows that our propensity for multitasking and distractions is a bad thing. According to UC Irvine professor of informatics Dr. Gloria Mark, once you are captured by a distraction, it can take up to twenty-three minutes to get back on track.4 And since the average person succumbs to distractions an average of every three minutes, it can be difficult to escape.5 It’s even worse if you are a multitasker. You might think a chronic multitasker would be more adept at switching between tasks, but you would be wrong. A recent study by Stanford professor Eyal Ophir found that “heavy media multitaskers”—those who consumed a large amount of media content—were not only more susceptible to irrelevant stimuli, but they were also significantly slower when it came to switching between tasks.6 Another study, from the University of Utah, found that people who identified as “strong multitaskers” were in fact the least capable multitaskers of the 310 subjects they tested. Heavy multitaskers are far less capable of inhibiting distractions than those who identify as light multitaskers.7”
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