Annnnntiichipaaatiooon.....
(Vintage television ad for ketchup)
[westsidetoastmasters.com]
Quote - read rest of article for more.
(Vintage television ad for ketchup)
Quote
[brainalchemist.com]
Nest a story within a story. The brain always wants to complete a pattern. Once the story is over, it is filed away, and the attention is shifted to the next thing. To sustain your audience’s attention for a longer time and create anticipation, begin a story and then take a detour through another story. Close the second story first and then complete the initial story. You will create nested loops to keep your audience craving for a resolution. Think about mystery novels that gradually unfold the unknown. The only caveat is that you don’t want to make it too confusing and impossible to follow. Don’t overwhelm the working memory with facts, engage emotions instead. Loop but don’t ramble!
Quote
Suspense is a coveted state that any speaker and storyteller would like to create for the audience. It is the ultimate tool of brain captivation that leaves the audience hanging on your every word, waiting to hear what happens next. How do you achieve suspense in speeches and presentations? Here are five strategies that can help:
(Corboy: this is an abbreviated list, go to the article to explanation of each of these 5 points.
[brainalchemist.com]
1. Open powerfully...
2. Blend anticipation and uncertainty. ..
3. Let the audience experience the scene by using sensory language and compelling visuals... .
4. Escalate conflict..
5. Introduce a brain jolt...0.
[westsidetoastmasters.com]
Quote - read rest of article for more.
Quote
Excite Your Audience With Anticipation
By carefully creating anticipation, we turn our audience from observers into participants.
During an interview with poet Carl Sandburg, a reporter asked, "In your opinion, what's the ugliest word in the English language?"
The poet frowned. "The ugliest word in the English language?" he repeated, furrowing his brow and staring in the distance.
"Ugliest?" he muttered to himself. "Ugliest. The ugliest word."
He reflected awhile, face knotted in thought. After a long, pregnant pause, Sandburg's eyes brightened and returned to the reporter's.
"The ugliest word is - 'exclusive'."
The power in that story lies not so much in Sandburg's choice of a word as in the journey he took to get there. With the pauses - the repetition - the description of Sandburg's physical reactions - we do not merely hear the story, we participate in it. We sit in the room with the reporter, waiting for the great man's word. Then, once spoken, it is a revelation.
Another way to tell that story could have been: "Carl Sandburg once said that 'exclusive' was the ugliest word in the English language."
Not nearly as powerful, is it? The difference is that the first version puts us on the scene and creates a sense of tension in us - it fills us with anticipation.
Creating anticipation in your listeners can mean the difference between a so-so speech and a great one.
By carefully creating anticipation, we turn our audience from observers into participants. Instead of being passive recipients of our wisdom, they become companions on a journey, in which they feel they have something at stake.
By the end of this article, you'll know the simple tools that can create anticipation in your listeners - and you'll be able to use them in your next presentation. (By the way - I just used one of those tools!)
(deleted for brevity)
How do you incorporate the powerful feeling of anticipation into your speeches? Building anticipation should be considered part of the structure of the speech itself. A speech that uses anticipation to move itself forward is an "inductive" speech.