Dear Invisible:

sounds like you might have a problem sticking the landing. While we can’t promise our advice will make you Captain Sully (talk about sticking the landing!) we can give you a few pointers to keep your colleagues at attention when rubber hits the river.

But first: There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s normal for people to drift off during a presentation. Your overworked colleagues have a lot competing for their attention. A little downtime gives them the chance to start thinking about the next item on the agenda. Attention is a scarce resource after all.

1. Your introduction is the blueprint for your conclusion.

While we appreciate the elegance of a presentation that ends as it began, there’s good evidence for the practice. Social science researchers call it the primacy and recency effect. This effect refers to the human mind’s tendency to remember the first and last things we hear. The same principle applies to presenting. Put the most important information at the beginning and end of your speech. It might seem repetitive. But unlike streaming an online video, your colleagues can’t hit rewind when they zone out.

2. Be bold when concluding your presentation.

In conclusion. To conclude. In summary. With the two minutes I have left. To wrap it up. These words prompt your audience to get off their phones and pay attention again. Once you have their attention, share your conclusion (and if you followed the first tip they’ll be primed for it)

3. Say thanks and invite questions from the audience.

It is your responsibility to make the presentation as intelligible as possible, but your audience has to do their part, too. If after following these steps you still hear crickets, say thanks and invite questions.

Here's an Example:

You might not stick the landing quite like Captain Sully, but you'll come close by following these three pointers.

You got this,

The Effective Communicator