Would you read a restaurant menu if you weren’t hungry?
That’s the question I keep coming back to when I think about attention - mine, yours, our audience's.
When I scroll through my email I notice - I won't open it unless it speaks to THIS exact need I have at THIS exact moment. (Reminds me - don't be clever, be clear - the end of a fluffy email title)
Your audience isn’t ignoring you.
They're just not hungry for what you’re offering at that moment. They aren't willing to spend their "cognitive capital" on what you have to say.
This idea comes from Matt Wallaert's book Start at the End. He talks about “cognitive budget” - how people, consciously or not, allocate their mental energy during the day. That budget is tight. People don’t spend it lightly. The brain is VERY stingy with energy. Now more than ever.
Take me, for example. I’ve got an absurd capacity to obsess over the design of behavior change programs, tech for transformation, or why most change fails when it does. Also: niche podcasts and HBR book launches. Any Tim Ferriss, Andrew Huberman, Finding mastery fans? A Trekkie? Performance data. Learning methods. And, weirdly, chocolate.
(Did you know there’s an “elite” cacao bean called Criollo that makes up only 0.01% of all cacao? Tastes like heaven. I tried making it in a chocolate business once.)
But most things?
I don’t care.
I don’t spend my cognitive budget on car brands, new phones, the latest shows, celebrity gossip, or what anyone wore, or makeup. If you're trying to sell me on any of that, I’ll skim, scroll, or delete. Doesn't matter what great copy you have!
If you try to pitch me a five-course food journey at some prime Michelin restaurant with poetic descriptions and food from every corner of the world... I'd rather you just tell me, “It’s healthy. You’ll feel good after.” Or: “You’ll need to eat again later.”
Because I don’t care.
But if I do?
Oh, then I want all the detail, the full breakdown, the nerdy rabbit hole.
Relevance is the gatekeeper to attention. Timing is the key.
What are you willing to obsess about no matter how much time it takes?
If you're a creator, entrepreneur, or leader trying to get someone to open your email, buy your offer, attend your event - ask yourself,
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Do they care about this at all?
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Do they care about it right now?
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How much cognitive capital are they willing to spend on it?
You don’t just need the right message.
You need the right message, the right moment, delivered in the right dose, with the right depth, to the right people. Not after my workout when all I care is food. Not when I'm rushed to finish the day. And not EVER for politics or what's latest on Netflix.
In today’s noisy world, “cognitive budget” is tighter than ever. Context is everything. Knowing who you are speaking to is essential.
Are you speaking to someone who's ready to listen?