1 Hook them from the start

The first step to creating suspense is to grab your audience's attention with a hook. A hook is a statement, question, or anecdote that sparks curiosity and interest in your topic. For example, you could start with a surprising fact, a personal story, or a provocative question that relates to your main message. A hook should be relevant, concise, and intriguing, and it should make your audience want to know more.

2 Use cliffhangers strategically

A cliffhanger is a point in your presentation where you leave your audience in suspense, wondering what will happen next. Cliffhangers can be used to create tension, excitement, and anticipation, but they can also backfire if you overuse them or fail to deliver on them. To use cliffhangers effectively, you need to follow some rules. First, make sure your cliffhangers are relevant to your main message and not just random distractions. Second, make sure you resolve your cliffhangers in a satisfying and logical way, and not leave your audience hanging or disappointed. Third, make sure you space your cliffhangers appropriately, and not cram them too close together or too far apart.

3 Provide clear transitions and summaries

While suspense is important, clarity is essential. You don't want your audience to get lost or confused by your presentation, so you need to provide clear transitions and summaries that guide them through your story. Transitions are words or phrases that signal the change of topic, direction, or tone in your presentation. They help your audience follow your logic and understand how your points are connected. For example, you could use transitions like "now that we have seen...", "let's move on to...", or "however, there is a problem...". Summaries are brief statements that recap the main points or takeaways of your presentation. They help your audience remember and digest your message. For example, you could use summaries like "to sum up...", "in conclusion...", or "the key message is...".

4 Balance mystery and clarity

One of the challenges of creating suspense is to balance mystery and clarity. Mystery is the element of uncertainty or unpredictability that makes your audience curious and engaged. Clarity is the element of simplicity and coherence that makes your audience understand and trust your message. Too much mystery can make your presentation confusing and frustrating, while too much clarity can make your presentation boring and predictable. To balance mystery and clarity, you need to consider your audience, your purpose, and your medium. For example, if your audience is familiar with your topic, you can add more mystery to challenge and surprise them. If your purpose is to persuade or inform, you need more clarity to support and explain your message. If your medium is visual or interactive, you can use more mystery to stimulate and involve your audience.

5 Use suspense with purpose

The final tip to balance suspense and clarity in your presentation is to use suspense with purpose. Suspense is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It should serve your main message and goal, and not distract or detract from them. To use suspense with purpose, you need to ask yourself why you are using suspense, what effect you want to achieve, and how it relates to your message. For example, you could use suspense to create curiosity, to build rapport, to emphasize a point, to contrast a situation, or to motivate a call to action. Whatever your reason, make sure your suspense is relevant, consistent, and meaningful.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?