Surprise! This word, together with super pumped family members and friends jumping up from behind sofas and tables will either fill your heart with joy or give you the heebie-jeebies. In case of the latter, you might believe surprises aren’t for you, but they are. Everybody loves surprises when it comes to strong communication and engaging stories. Comedy, magic, movies are all dependent on the element of surprise. When used correctly it will always grab and hold people’s attention. Let’s take comedy as an example to illustrate what I mean.
Setup + punchline is the most classic structure of a joke. You create a world you want to take the audience to, an observation, situation or fact (A). Then you deliver the punchline, the thing that needs to trigger the most laughter. People will most likely expect (B) to be the logical result of where your setup is leading them. They are filling it in for themselves. The funny part is added, when the comedian delivers (C), instead of the expected (B). A point of view or outcome they didn’t expect or is way more remarkable or entertaining than they were initially thinking. The more surprising a punchline is, the bigger the chance of laughter. That’s why comedians who make jokes where the audience is already expecting (C) before it is said, will score less. There is no real twist. It’s funny, but too obvious. You lost my attention, because I was kind of expecting it. Or if there is no more link between the setup and the punchline, it will be perceived as too farfetched and confusing. (C) is funny, (D) is a bridge too far and awkward.
Is my message to you when it comes to grabbing the attention, to start writing jokes? Not at all. If you are not funny, don’t try to be funny or you will end up telling a joke like a drunk uncle at a wedding reception that will probably finish with “You had to be there.”
If you are funny, use it, but maintain a healthy balance. Unless you are a comedian, in most interactions people don’t expect you to be funny the whole length of your story. Humor helps. It makes things easier to process, will lower people’s guard and increase your likeability, but it is not the main goal. Simply deliver surprises to people to make them look up, with a smile, interest or curiosity.
Creating surprises to grab the attention can be found and inserted into every form of communication. Let me give you some examples of how easy and effective surprises can be.
•Creative greeting: What do you answer when people ask you how you are doing? Most of us will say, “I’m fine, thank you. I’m good. It’s ok. I’m a bit tired” and so on. Try answering something different. I always say, “I’m living the dream!” Try it and see what happens to people when you give them that answer. Remember the supply chain colleague from part 1?
When I entered a popular London restaurant a while back, I had to wait at the bar for a table. The bartender asked the gentlemen beside me how he was and what he would like to have as an aperitif. He said he was fine and ordered a cocktail. Then it was my turn. Same questions, only I answered, “Living the dream and a gin & tonic.” His response: “Living the dream, seriously. Nice, good for you. What’s it like to live your dream?” His colleague passed the bar, he said, “This guy is living the dream”, she smiled and joined the conversation. The 30 minutes it took for my table to free up, flew by and by that time the whole restaurant staff was smiling, because the guy who was living the dream, sat at their bar. Needless to say, the whole evening service was awesome. A friend of mine, Johan Driessens, who wrote a book on enthusiasm, always says, answer ‘unbelievable’ to any question you get and see what happens. He has a darn fun keynote about it too.
•Presentation titles: When I’m speaking about a certain topic I always make sure the title itself will already surprise and grab the attention even if it’s not yet the day of the actual presentation. For example, when I’m talking about storytelling within digital transformation projects, I don’t say: ‘The importance of storytelling within transformation’ or ‘Storytelling and the future of digital.’ People know what they can expect. A man talking about the importance of strong communication in a world that is rapidly changing and where we should all look at Alibaba, Amazon and Airbnb. Nothing new under the sun. My title is: “Why Pikachu doesn’t use a phone in the gym.” I know when I use this title people immediately think, “Why doesn’t Pikachu use a phone in the gym and what does this have to do with digital transformation and storytelling? I got to hear this.” When I mention this part in a workshop and move on, there is always one or two people that stop me and say, “We get the surprise part, but you haven’t told us why Pikachu doesn’t use a phone in the gym.” Same for when talking about telling your own story linked to personal branding. My title will be “How Evan Almighty will boost your career.” You know it’s about personal branding and career development, but what does Evan Almighty have to do with anything? I know by using this kind of surprising titles and openers, people are immediately triggered, and I stand out from others talking about a similar topic. In internet terms, you might also call them ‘clickbait’, with the only difference, that I recommend you deliver on the expectations you set.
•Remarkable content: Did you know you spend an average of 90,000 hours at work in your lifetime? J.K. Rowling got refused 12 times before getting the chance to publish Harry Potter. We live in a world together with 7.5 billion other people, by 2050 this will be 9.7 billion. These are just some random facts and phrases, but they are all surprising, remarkable, shocking and trigger curiosity. Starting a story with this kind of content, heads will look up, interest will be triggered and even if people had a good idea of what your story was going to be about, they will not have expected you to start like this.
•Video opening: When you are not giving any presentations, but are more into video content, it’s the same drill only fewer seconds to grab the attention. Most people start their video with nice scenery, people walking in, introductions… You need things that can ‘stop the thumb’, as Facebook employees call it. What makes people stop scrolling and watch your video? Something they decide based on your avatar or those first 5.7 seconds. I have a video on ‘Why people should stop hating on PowerPoint’, where I start the video holding a hammer and describing that I’m not good around the house. Video performed great, because why are you holding a hammer when this video is about PowerPoint? I have a video on trust between business partners where the opening shot and the avatar is of me wearing a smiley suit, ready to go to a business meeting. Video worked like a charm, because what are you going to do in a business meeting wearing a smiley suit?
A year ago, I entered a competition for a spot to be amongst 8 people who would be chosen from around the world to speak in Stockholm. To enter, people had to send in a 90 second video to convince the organizers they should have one of those spots. I started the video wearing a Chewbacca mask (if you don’t know what that is, look up ‘Chewbacca mom’ on YouTube and discover what it means to be super happy with the small things in life. Feel good video all the way).
How I got the mask is an interesting story I’ll tell you later in this book. I was teasing the audience that this mask and some fish had the key to peak performance within business. I got invited and the first thing that was said when I entered the venue, “There he is, mister Chewbacca. When we saw the video out of 170 others, we saw the first seconds and just had to have you over.”
I’m not trying to show off or tell you that these examples are the best route for you to take. My goal is to show you that it pays off thinking about how you are going to stop the thumb and surprise people. Making them think, “Hey, I haven’t seen this before, wonder where this is going. Ok, you have my attention.”
•Business cards: You don’t do presentations or video content, you are more of a one-to-one storyteller. Great, old school networking and handing out business cards is just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. One part of networking is starting the conversation, your energy and genius will help you with that, as seen in the first part. Plus, the ‘interaction’ chunk later on, will build further on it. Handing over a business card afterwards is easy and if your counterpart is Chinese, he will accept it with a smile, great attention and both hands. For them a business card is a gift and like any great gift, the feeling gets better when it’s a surprise. The hard part is making sure they actually pay attention to the business card and remember it. On one side, my card has a design of business-related doodles (illustrated on page 75 and it’s slightly bigger than most cards. Every time I hand them over people look at them, want to put them away and then take a second look, asking, “Wow, nice card, did you draw this? Unusual size, I won’t lose this one.” The conversation continues a bit longer, just about the philosophy behind the card and that indeed, I did make it myself. I’m linking the conversation and my face to this surprising card, so when he sees it the next day, he will think of me. How is your business card grabbing the attention, making people look twice, making them smile and continuing to offer interest and attention?