The hierarchy of attention: Why live online events trump recordings

The Money Show's Stephen Grootes is joined by Richard Mulholland, founder of Too Many Robots.

So much of our lives take place online now, from Zoom meetings to webinars and podcasts.

Our levels of engagement differ depending on on whether we actually participate in online events or simply just consume this content.

Presentation specialist Richard Mulholland (founder of AI agency Too Many Robots) talks about the hierarchy of attention.

It turns out that humans have a higher attention threshold when we're fully present and engaging with something that's real and live, he says.

"If I've got a webinar coming up at night and decide to just wait and get the recording tomorrow, I will take so much less away from it. If I'm in the room and I engage with people in real time I will do so at a much higher level."

Richard Mulholland, Founder - Too Many Robots

Whether you choose to have your camera and your microphone on, also makes a difference to your level of engagement, he says.

"What we've found is that when somebody has mic on, the moment they switch to mute they're a lot more likely to start getting distracted because they go from being an attendee to being an audience member. Why your mic is on you feel like you're ready to go at any given second and you're thinking about what you have to say."

Richard Mulholland, Founder - Too Many Robots

"One step further down the ladder when you turn your camera off, you become less invested - you can walk around the room, go and get something to eat, etcetera. And of course when you're watching a recording you're dissociated." Richard

Mulholland, Founder - Too Many Robots

Likewise with a podcast, Mulholland says - if he listens while simultaneously doing other things he'll engage less than if he sits at a table, listens and if possible watches, with attention.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation