Master the unexpected: Why attention depends on violated expectations
Amazon knowledge sharing event
📍Online, Amazon EU
📆 5 June 2025
Invitation to speak
Introduction
Attention is scarce. Most people do not want to give it away, and when they do, they want it back quickly. In this environment, predictability is your enemy. To engage people, whether in communication, risk management, or crisis response, you must sometimes violate expectations. Done well, this can make the difference between being ignored and being remembered.
This article is adapted from a June 2025 talk by Andrew Tollinton.
Why attention is hard to win
Our brains are wired to conserve attention. Unless something is directly relevant or novel, we tune it out. This is an evolutionary trait; paying attention to everything is exhausting, so we filter for signals of change.
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Relevant: We notice what matters to survival or goals.
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New: We notice what is different, unusual, or unexpected.
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Time-bound: In practice, you have about 30 seconds to earn and hold attention.
Storytelling as structure
Narratives help carry attention over time. Freytag’s dramatic pyramid, used in theatre and literature, applies equally to communication and training:
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Exposition: What, where, when, why, who, how
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Inciting Event: the moment that triggers action
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Rising action: The build-up of tension
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Climax: the high point of engagement
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Falling action and resolution: returning attention to a steady state
By introducing the unexpected within this structure, you extend attention and make your message memorable.
Violating expectations
Violating expectations means disrupting predictable patterns in a way that grabs attention. Examples include:
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Visual cues: Something unusual on a screen, in a room, or in an exercise.
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Language: Reframing instructions or using an unexpected phrase.
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Training drills: Changing established commands to force reconsideration.
The role of positive unpredictability
Violating expectations is not about shock for its own sake. It must be positively unpredictable:
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Purposeful, not random
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Framed in context, so the audience understands why
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Linked to the behaviour you want to encourage
An unexpected visual, phrase, or drill should lead to learning or action, not confusion.
Summary
- Attention is precious; people rarely want to give it away.
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Predictable communication is ignored.
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To gain attention, you must violate expectations.
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The goal is to be positively unpredictable: break patterns to reinforce learning and retention.
Once attention is earned, people quickly look for predictability again. This cycle, disruption, then resolution, is at the heart of effective communication and crisis readiness.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. What does “master the unexpected” mean?
It means recognising that attention depends on novelty and unpredictability, and deliberately using this to engage people.
Q2. Why is violating expectations effective?
Because our brains filter out predictable information. When expectations are disrupted, attention is automatically drawn to the new stimulus.
Q3. What is positive unpredictability?
It is purposeful disruption framed to support learning or behaviour change, rather than random or confusing surprises.
Q4. How can this help in risk management training?
Unexpected cues, a changed phrase, altered drill, or unusual scenario, can keep participants engaged and prepare them for real crises.
Q5. How does narrative structure fit in?
Stories hold attention longer by combining exposition, rising action, climax and resolution. Violated expectations introduced at the right point strengthen this effect.
Q6. Can violating expectations backfire?
Yes, if it causes confusion, anxiety, or seems irrelevant. Framing and context are essential to keep the effect positive.
Speaker bio: Andrew Tollinton
Andrew Tollinton is Co-Founder of SIRV, the UK’s enterprise resilience platform. A leader in risk management technology, he chairs the Institute of Strategic Risk Management’s AI in Risk Management group and regularly speaks on AI and resilience at global conferences. A London Business School alumnus, Andrew brings 20+ years’ experience at the intersection of technology, compliance and security.
"SIRV helped us move beyond basic reporting into a system that actively supports decision-making". Les O'Gorman, Director of Facilities, UCB - Pharma and Life Sciences
