suspense

I made someone’s day by giving her a strawberry.

How is this possible? It’s a mere strawberry. No, she was not starving, nor is she a fruit lover who hasn’t eaten any fruit in ages. Let me tell you what happened.

I walked up to my coworker’s desk with both my hands clasped around something. The look on my face must have read, “I’m up to something goooooood and you’re about to find out.” It was obvious the whole time I had something in my hands, unless I was playing a prank. This whole non-verbal exchange might have lasted two seconds. I then asked her to hold out her hands. She did, smiling, and I dropped the strawberry from my hands into hers.

What happened there?

First, I created suspense. To create suspense you need to promise something good is going to happen without giving away what this good thing is. You’re letting the other people know, “you HAVE to see this.”

Second, I made it dramatic. I could have revealed the strawberry and given it to my coworker. Instead I kept my good little secret hidden AND made her do something for it. It built on the suspense. It makes the good thing you have even better.Read more