These are identifiable moments in time when someone is particularly receptive to a communicator’s message.

Key: The factor that makes the difference in the moment is often not the most accurate or useful: it is the one that has been highlighted for attention, AT THE MOMENT OF THE DECISION. This mechanism here is the influence of what is in the mind of the person at the moment. Examples:
Q: “Are you a helpful person”
A: “Yes I am.”

Q: “Will you help me with ….?”

Q: “Are you adventurous“?

A: “Yes.”

Q: “Please come skydiving with me.”

Channeled attention leads to pre-suasion because we tend as humans to assign more undue levels of importance to an idea as soon as our attention is focused on it. ‘Nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are thinking about it’.²

Key: We have learned to focus on the most important and significant thing in front of us as survival tool. In pre-suasion the idea is to make the immediate the important thing, or the thing that you, as an influencer want to be important. Adverts to discourage drink driving often have horrific images. An appeal to be aware that the traffic lights are about to change to red is an orange light. People shopping online for a comfortable sofa are more likely to click on one with clouds as part of the image even if it is more expensive one than one without clouds; clouds signify comfort to many people.

Attention leads to perceptions of importance, and it also leads to perceptions of causality. When we give special attention to something we are more likely to think of it (or them) as a cause of something else.

Key: We give causal factors more importance when we are making decisions. Where do we sit our special guest for a meeting? At the head of the table. Who do we listen to more in that situation: the person in the focal position. The more we highlight in advance that something is important, the more likely it will be seen as important. Regardless of whether a CEO of a large company is a successful leader, he or she is thought to be more significant to success or failure of the business, regardless. They are seen as the cause of the success or failure because they are seen and seen as important and we think they have a larger causal role than in fact they usually do.

Certain factors gain attention more than others. These are often the sexual, the threatening and the different. Certain cues command attention. Erotic ads, fire alarms images and pets and babies in Halloween costumes, all command attention. Enough said.

There are benefits to holding attention once attention has been gained.

Key: Audiences stay focused on the intended and beneficial elements of a presenter’s favoured argument and are less likely to be challenged because opposing views tend to be shut out of consideration when attention is held. One tried and true method is to pose a mystery at the beginning of an argument, presentation or reasoning with the promise of a future revelation. Crime series dramas play to this. Professors give hints about a big reveal. A solution is presented at the beginning of a story and the game is to trace the clues.