Ep. 9. Suspense!

Listen here

One of the most effective ways a speech can hold an audience’s attention is suspense. And withholding a little information can whet their appetite for the answer to the question, “What happens next?”

Links: Story by Robert McKee. He wrote it with screenwriters in mind, but there’s a lot in here that speaks to the craft of writing speeches, too.

Music: “Upbeat” by Jon Luc Hefferman, and short excerpts from “Snowmen” by Kai Engel and “Cylinder Three” by Chris Zabriskie. Used under a Creative Commons non-commercial attribution license.