--- description: Have you heard of 'cognitive dissonance'? title: Here Are the 3 Steps for Getting People to Pay Attention to You image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bf4042cb97530ec/698780fc06f2c13adb33428d/gettyimages_530686131-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here Are the 3 Steps for Getting People to Pay Attention to You by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 26, 2015 5:01 AM CUT  Applauding audience standing before man talking into microphone in lobby of conference center Applauding audience standing before man talking into microphone in lobby of conference centerGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 26, 2015 5:01 AM CUT In her excellent book [100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321821246/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0321821246 "undefined"), Susan Weinschenk lays out a research backed 3 step process that really impressed me: **1)** [**Start with what you know they believe.**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-improve-your-listen "undefined") --- > “” --- **2) Surprise people.** --- > “” --- **3) Set up a situation of cognitive dissonance.** --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/what-are-the-3-steps-for-getting-people-to-pa/ "undefined")**_._** **Join over 161,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** Related posts: [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/ "undefined") [The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/ "undefined") [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3722541/getting-people-pay-attention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3722541/getting-people-pay-attention/"},"headline":"Here Are the 3 Steps for Getting People to Pay Attention to You","datePublished":"2015-02-26T05:01:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:14:03.245Z","description":"Have you heard of 'cognitive dissonance'?","url":"https://time.com/3722541/getting-people-pay-attention/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bf4042cb97530ec/698780fc06f2c13adb33428d/gettyimages_530686131-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bf4042cb97530ec/698780fc06f2c13adb33428d/gettyimages_530686131-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"applauding-audience-man-speaking","caption":"applauding-audience-man-speaking","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3722541/getting-people-pay-attention/","name":"Here Are the 3 Steps for Getting People to Pay Attention to You"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Art of the Acceptance Speech","description":"As McCain prepares for his big night, TIME's political correspondents examine past speeches that worked and didn't","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/opo2CtBp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2008-09-03T00:28:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/opo2CtBp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3722541/getting-people-pay-attention/","duration":"PT5M17S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3722541/getting-people-pay-attention/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```