Deborah,

You are so right!!  I initially attributed my annoyance at these distractions as me being too sensitive.  But, I am so glad to see that I am not the only one. 
I think a lot of the "lack of attention" also has to do with information overload. There is soo much to sift through these days everyone is much more discerning about what they will spend time on digesting. 

As we were crafting our year -end appeal this year I knew that sharing information on our issue was not enough, we had to make our supporters understand the urgency of our work. Creating a compelling message, through urgency, emotion, impact etc. is more essential than ever. 

As for opportunities to present in groups. I ask, just like being at the movies, for everyone to mute their phones.  This sets a tone that these types of distractions will be frowned upon. As a presenter I also try to create a more conversational/interactive presentation with the hopes of engaging the audience instead of just talking at them.  The days of the didactic lecture are gone. People must be stimulated, either visually, emotionally or topically.