Conversations about teasing usually focus on what to say, and organizations spend a ton of time and money working to get the words right. But loads of research has shown that trust and decision-making are driven at least as much (and often, more) by delivery as by content. In other words, if your goal is to inspire viewers to stick around for more, what you say may not be as important as how you say it.
Take a look at this sequence featuring NBC Los Angeles anchor, Chuck Henry.
The impressive — and decisively convincing — element of this tease sequence is not so much what Henry is saying as it is his obvious enthusiasm for what he’s saying.
Watch with the sound turned down and study the way he sits and moves. Listen with your eyes closed and mark the way he speaks. Altogether, it conveys the feeling that he wants to come back, and that infuses his delivery with an emotional promise as well as a factual one. And the emotional promise is almost always the one that is truly convincing and compelling.
The work of teasing is not necessarily showcasing the latest information about something. The work of teasing is convincing viewers that it will be worth their while to stick around for more, whether you’re talking about the latest information or wanting viewers to look again at something they may have already seen.
The key to that is convincing them that you believe it is worth your while.
