KEY POINTS:
Every year, millions of kids go through weeks of pure suspense.
"Will Santa bring me my guitar?" they wonder. "Will Santa get me a train?" they speculate. "Will Santa deliver me that gorgeous doll?" they ruminate.
Now, let's for one second kill those weeks of suspense.
Let's say the kids didn't wonder, or speculate, or ruminate. Let's say Santa just slid down that chimney. He got in on Christmas Eve, did his thing, and when those kids woke up there was their gift.
No suspense. No build-up. Just this big box of goodies, lying under the tree on Christmas morning. The kids tear open the wrapping paper and, hey, it's all over.
One second of mystery, and then finito. Mystery that Alfred Hitchcock would not have approved of at all. Hitchcock was a master movie-maker, and he specialised in creating suspense, instead of mystery.
"Mystery" is simply that startling moment. That moment in a movie when you're jolted out of your seat. "Suspense", on the other hand, is slow-burn, where gulp follows gulp, and is amplified with a dose or two of predetermined "mystery jolts".
So how do you create suspense?
Hitchcock created suspense in a simple fashion. Right at the start of the movie, he told you who the killer was. Then, being "generous", he showed you who the potential victims were. And having established the relationship, he then proceeded to amplify the tension with non-stop suspense.
So you knew who the killer was. And it would drive you nuts that the victim couldn't see the killer hovering. You'd be on the edge of your seat. And the victim would be walking right into the trap. And your heart would be going thump, thump, thumpity-thump.
Much like the way most kids' hearts thump all the way to Christmas morning. They know Santa is coming. They just don't know if Santa has them on his "bad list". And the suspense drives them crazy.
Using suspense in business is relatively easy but we're lazy enough to use mystery. Mystery is when you show up to a presentation and make the presentation. No build-up. No rumination. No suspense. You do your presentation and it's all over.
Yet look around you and you'll find suspense everywhere.
Every Harry Potter book release is piled to the top with suspense. Every movie shows you a trailer with specially made clips that create suspense. Every TV serial leaves you with enough information to create suspense for the next episode.
Every Miss Universe ceremony builds up systematically, creating suspense; even dragging it down to second runner-up, first runner-up and then the eventual winner.
So how do you use these lessons of suspense in your business?
Let's whizz back to that presentation you were making. Let's say you're making a presentation at a networking meeting. Here's what you'd do:
* You'd announce the event weeks in advance (and make sure you've got a catchy title).
* You'd drip-feed the audience with bullet points about what they'd expect to hear at the presentation.
* Through a website, blog or even a series of postcards, you'd even give them a chunky bit of information.
* You'd get the event organiser to send in a teaser before the event itself, ensuring that most people attend.
* You'd get the announcer on the day to tease with the announcement.
* You'd then make your presentation.
And that audience is more than prepared to hear what you have to say. In fact, they're actually keen to be there for a change.
Adults are like kids. We love to know what's coming. And we like to be in control of the situation. We don't like surprises at all. And mystery makes us feel unsafe because we don't know what's coming.
Suspense, on the other hand, allows us to savour what's to come in a more manageable fashion.
But suspense has a natural sense of hoopla.
And it makes you wonder. Is Santa's build-up too much hoopla? Is Harry Potter's build-up too much hoopla? Is Miss Universe too much hoopla?
If you answered "yes" to all of the above, you're right.
It can be too much hoopla. But, hey, without the so-called hoopla, your so-called mysterious presentation will come and go like a ship in the night.
But Santa, Harry and Miss Universe stick around despite showing up year after year. Their success depends on the build-up and the suspense.
Call it hoopla, call it what you want. Your sales are directly proportional to the build-up. If you simply show up to make your presentation, sell your product or announce your event, you won't do badly. But if you want to really get the attention of your audience, you'll need to use suspense.
Ask any kid and they'll tell you. The secret isn't in the so-called mysterious goodies. The secret is in the nail-bites, all the way to Christmas morning.
* Sean D'Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and is an international author and trainer.
