Much of the conventional wisdom offered today about how to “engage” audiences, get your content read online, keep attention of conference attendees and not put people to sleep in a class centers around the “fact” that people have short attention spans. A common limit is said to be seven minutes of content, with most advice centering around two to three minutes. We’re supposed to take all the detail out of our slides and show pictures, telling stories, so that we don’t lose our listeners.
There is much to be said about making information more digestible and engaging. Stories do capture our imagination and our interest more than dry theoretical expository. We can take it too far, however.
