Attention

Attention
A meeting with Dr Peter Scott from the OU's Knowledge Media Institute and Nic Price two days ago. I'm keen to introduce two technologies - flashmeeting and hexagon - to the BBC.
We chatted on the return trip to Milton Keynes about media use generally. I have a question: when you attend a meeting or seminar, do you give your undivided attention to the proceedings or do you allocate your attention as you see fit?

One of the applications of Peter's technology - flashmeeting - effectively enables you to turn up late to virtual meetings and quickly skim through what has happened so far. He referred to such people as 'power users'. In a not dissimilar vein, I feel it is perfectly appropriate to deliberately dip in and out of meetings or seminars, using a blackberry or laptop, when the topics drift in terms of relevance.

However, I am aware that many people still frown on this - probably sharing the same sentiments as teachers monitoring texting by students during their classes. But aren't the two situations different? Aren't we simply dealing with an overextended norm? As a 'responsible adult' my attention is a precious resource - it equates to cognitive effort. Quite apart from the fact that I do, indeed, seem to be getting bored more and more easily, I feel uncomfortable if I am devoting my attention to something which has no discernible relevance to my role.

On the other hand are issues of respect, normality and listening skills: one could take the view that if we are sufficintly attentive to those around us we are bound to learn something of value, and at a bare minimum develop our relationship with them. Where information is not pertinent then, my decision appears to come down to whether I will spend my attention developing a relationship or working on tasks.

It is symptomatic of the changes in our experiential environment that I think this way: the way in which we are presented with quick-fire, time-compressed, over-exaggerated information all points to the primacy of attention. We live in an 'attention-grabbing' age. One of the more successful learning solutions I have seen in recent years - executve summaries - takes popular management tomes and converts them to one page summaries - or five minute audio files.

A few years ago I remember attending a training session delivered by an ex-Cisco trainer to a group of Siemens Communications employees. The trainer remarked on how few of the trainees had laptops open 'that's the difference between you and Cisco people' he remarked 'if this was Cisco, they'd all be emailing like mad during the training - that's why you're getting beaten up in the market'.

For the benefit of those of us suffering from AADD (Adult Attention Defecit Disorder) I have compiled a list of useful phrases:
- Stop! Only say it if it is going to take less than 30 seconds. (This is best accompanied by the classic raised outward palm gesture)- Hey, that sounds interesting. Can you podcast it and email me the RSS feed?- Talk faster. I don't listen to slow-talking people.- What you were about to say - can you summarise it and give me the summary?- It's ok, carry on talking - I'm just checking my email.- Hmmm. Yes. Hmmm. Yeah....right. Hmmm. (with practice this will become an automatic process and will not require any attention whatsoever).