"No matter how topical, relevant or pressing your content is, you're often fighting an uphill battle for the audience's attention. Whether their distractions are an internal monologue ("And just where am I supposed to find the time to teach the new guy how to use our Learning Management System? At midnight? Five in the morning?") or an external dialogue ("Those two sitting in the back row will not stop chatting, and I cannot concentrate!"), they need you as the speaker to help catch — and keep — their focus."