As promised, this time we’re going to explore a simple principle we use to help your audience PAUSE and engage. But before we can do that, there’s a myth that has to be busted. Stick around to find out our audience engagement strategy. That’s now on Video Answers.
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Busting the Myth
How many times have you heard if this, when it comes to communication?
- First, tell them what you’re going to tell them
- And then, tell them
- Finally, tell them what you just told them
However, is this really sound advice?
Ken Davis, who is an author, speaker, and the founder of the SCORRE Conference which has been training communicators for 30+ years, shares some insight about this widely accepted myth. Ken says this, “When the tension is gone, the attention is gone.”
The truth is, if we tell your audience everything they need to know in the first sentence of your video, they will push stop and move on to something else. Why? There is no need to listen. There is no more tension and so, there is no more attention.
Audience Engagement Strategy: Embrace the Tension
Nobody starts a joke with the punch line. Neither should your audience hear your entire outline in the first sentence of your video. That’s why one of the best ways we’ve found to engage audiences is to embrace the tension.
Nobody starts a joke with the punch line. Neither should your audience hear your entire outline in the first sentence of your video.
There are a lot of ways to embrace tension, but over the years these 6 ways have become by favorite.
6 Ways To Create Tension
- Get Their Attention:
We like to surprise viewers, shock them or make them laugh. Any way in the first few moments of your video to show them why they need to pay attention. - Begin At The End:
No disrespect to Maria von Trapp, but sometimes the beginning is not the very best place to start. That’s why we will tease an audience by beginning at the end of the story, then rewind to beginning and show them how we got there. - Employ Cliff Hangers:
In music it’s called a suspension. In film it’s called a cliff hanger. Whatever you call it, sometimes the best way we’ve found to create tension is to leave your audience hanging.
Speaking of cliff hangers, we’ll continue this exploration of tension on our next episode where I’ll share 3 final ways we like to engage your audience by creating tension.
Questions?
If you have questions or comments about using tension in your video, leave a comment below or send me an email to answers@comprehensivemedia.com.
Oh, and one more thing… Never mind. I’ll save it for later.
Until then, I’ll be waiting for your questions and you, of course, will be waiting with great anticipation for part 2 of “How can you engage our audience?” That’s next time on Video Answers. The resource with video production help for your business.