You've Got 8 Seconds Audiobook By Paul Hellman cover art

You've Got 8 Seconds

Communication Secrets for a Distracted World

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

You've Got 8 Seconds

By: Paul Hellman
Narrated by: Paul Hellman
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.00

Buy for $16.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Every day at work, people do three things: talk, listen, and pretend to listen. That's not surprising when you consider that the average attention span has dropped to 8 seconds. To break through, says high-stakes communications expert Paul Hellman, you need to focus on your audience, be slightly different, and deliver with finesse.

Through fast, fun, actionable tips, You've Got 8 Seconds explains what works and what doesn't, what's forgettable and what sticks. With stories, scripts, and examples of good and bad messages, the book reveals three main strategies:

  • Focus: Design a strong message - then say it in seconds
  • Variety: Make routine information come alive
  • Presence: Convey confidence and command attention

You'll discover practical techniques, including the fast-focus method™ that the author uses with leadership teams; how to stand out in the first seconds of a presentation; and 10 actions that spell executive presence.

Whether pitching a project, giving a speech, selling a product, or just writing an email, with You've Got 8 Seconds you'll get heard, get remembered, and get results.

©2017 Paul Hellman (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Published by arrangement with AMACOM, a division of American Management Association International, New York
Business Writing Career Success Communication & Social Skills Employment Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Development Writing & Publishing Business Career Inspiring Management
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
This audiobook felt slow at times but overall has some very good advice that can be helpful when presenting and leading meetings.

Solid advice here

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Not only was the information very useful and immediately applicable, the author/narrator was hilarious. Gained a wealth of knowledge and ended up laughing each chapter.

Audio book perfection!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

purchased based on my following and enjoying Dan Pink's work. performance wise both sound and deliver similarly. This book has some solid insights which is why it got four stars vs less. it could have been a five star book and performance but the last quarter of the book fell off with nothing really insightful to add. that said first half was solid and worth the price.

started strong but had weak finish

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The title sets a high expectation, which leaves the reader constantly disappointed as chapter after chapter covers basic communication/presentation techniques. The premise is that a presentation should cover these 3 things:
1. Why is the content important to the audience?
2. What is the content (agenda)?
3. How can the audience put the information into action?

For example, explaining to a group of salespeople that leadership training is valuable because it will help them develop and lead a team is the "why." The leadership skills is the "what." Giving specific actions for the audience to do is the "how".

Basic Communication/Presentation Advice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Practical, easy to follow guidance on communication. Real life examples that demonstrate the ideas presented.

Good Advice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You’ve got 8 seconds, is a very informative guide, to help you sell yourself and make a powerful statement in presenting yourself!

Very helpful and engaging!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What a great title. It encapsulated his entire premise. I pushed play. He arrested my attention and had his eager audience. It turned out not unlike the precocious child who enthusiastically teases with the line, "Look what I can do!", then hops on one foot while making a grimacing facial expression and you realize you fell for it and wasted a minute of your finite existence. The author makes many obvious statements as if they were profound revelations. Worse, he seems to believe it's amateur night at the improv and painfully tries to be funny via personal stories, like an interaction with a snarky bus driver, that just falls flat and seemed pointless. I listened for 7200 seconds, which, (I hope I'm not embarrassing myself with a basic second grade equation) is two full hours, of hoping the movie plot would suddenly grab me. It didn't. I couldn't listen another 8 seconds. Save yourselves people. Skip this one.

I gave him 7200 seconds!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Not worth the read. Misinterpreted studies and lots of confirmation bias. Trying to hard to be Malcolm gladwell.

Misinterpreted studies - confirmation bias

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.