I’ve always been fascinated by the notion of grabbing one’s attention. What makes certain book titles or 1-minute commercials stand out? In the golden age of content, combined with a systemic dwindling of attention spans, the task of immediately capturing an audience and drawing them in is more difficult than ever before.

I mean, think about television advertisements. Often, these are rude interruptions to the flow of a show, such that viewers are often hostile when presented with an ad. The task of a commercial to capture the minds of the grumpy viewer and inspire them then, is a huge ask. And if that wasn’t enough, to do it within a minute? Sounds almost impossible.

Yet, it happens. Music, actors and transitions are powerful tools that can be manipulated to push an audience towards accepting a message. Take this Nike commercial with Rafael Nadal, for instance. Different time shots (=persistence), upbeat and accelerating music (=relentlessness) and a sweaty athlete (=overcoming difficulty) all work together to illustrate the Nike message: Just Do It.

However, less visual forms of content such as books, have it harder. A writer must distil all their research, ideas and storylines into a few words to catch a consumer’s attention without the wonders of video editing to help. So then, we have a question: What makes a brilliant title?

The answer to this question is undoubtedly multifactorial, but I’ve noticed that one trend in titles that personally grab my attention is the idea of creating tension. In my experience, a title with 2 or more words that are in conflict with one another are highly effective in stimulating curiosity. Take, for instance:

• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. ‘Silent’ connotates a lack of noise, whereas ‘spring’ connotates liveliness relating to nature.
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. ‘Breath’ connotates effortlessness, governed by our autonomic nervous system, whereas ‘air’ connotates a sense of preciousness and necessity: humans need air to survive.

I find these oxymorons brilliant. As well as stimulating curiosity, these tensions also foreshadow the contents of the book. Silent Spring is a book on the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and When Breath Becomes Air is a memoir of a neurosurgeon as he receives a Stage IV Lung Cancer diagnosis: ideas you can guess from the themes in the title.

So, titles are essentially ads. It seems obvious writing it here, but the idea that 2 words on a book, or a 1 minute video can transform a person from being hostile to motivated, curious and willing to buy your content, is one which I still find incredible.