Attention is prior to other aspects of speech and communication we associate with power—persuasion, argumentation, information. Before you can persuade you must capture attention: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!”[44] Before you inform, insult, seduce, or anything else, you must make sure that your voice doesn’t end up in the muted background static that is 99.9 percent of speech directed our way.
