Sometimes the stuff you don’t see – or hear – is what makes it so powerful.
Exhibit A is the red ribbon in this video.
The red ribbon in this case represents curiosity piqued and satisfaction withheld.
You’re all probably familiar with the story of the original JAWS. Had the mechanical shark actually worked, Spielberg and company would have used it more, thus diminishing the terrifying impact of the final film. It is the unseen which is scary. The broken shark was their “red ribbon.”
The drama in a TV reality show emerges from the fact that the game could move in any direction and it is really, truly unpredictable. That unpredictability is the “red ribbon” of Reality TV.
So what’s your “red ribbon”?
What’s the one thing listeners desperately want but you cleverly withhold so as to build their interest and involvement?
