How do you create urgency in your stories?

1 Use the right words

The words you choose can make a big difference in creating urgency in your stories. Use words that imply scarcity, value, risk, or opportunity, such as "limited", "exclusive", "now", "today", "before", "after", "only", "last chance", "don't miss", "must-see", "guaranteed", or "breakthrough". Avoid words that suggest delay, uncertainty, or indifference, such as "maybe", "later", "someday", "eventually", "perhaps", or "whatever". Also, use active verbs, short sentences, and direct questions to create a sense of movement, action, and curiosity.

2 Set a deadline

Another way to create urgency in your stories is to set a clear and specific deadline for your audience to act or respond. This can be a real or a hypothetical deadline, depending on your purpose and context. For example, if you are selling a product or service, you can mention a limited-time offer, a countdown timer, a limited stock, or a special bonus. If you are educating or informing your audience, you can mention a looming problem, a critical decision, a missed opportunity, or a future scenario. The key is to make your deadline realistic, relevant, and visible, and to explain the consequences of missing it.

3 Show contrast

Contrast is another effective storytelling technique that can create urgency in your stories. Contrast can help you highlight the difference between the current situation and the desired outcome, the before and after, the problem and the solution, the pain and the pleasure, or the cost and the benefit. By showing contrast, you can create a gap in your audience's mind that needs to be filled or resolved, and that can trigger their interest, curiosity, or desire. You can use contrast in various ways, such as using visuals, data, anecdotes, metaphors, or comparisons.

4 Appeal to emotions

Emotions are the driving force behind urgency. They can make your stories more memorable, relatable, and persuasive. To create urgency in your stories, you need to appeal to the emotions that are most relevant to your audience and your message. For example, you can use fear, anxiety, or frustration to highlight the risks or challenges that your audience faces, and how they can overcome them. You can use excitement, curiosity, or joy to highlight the benefits or opportunities that your audience can gain, and how they can achieve them. You can use empathy, trust, or gratitude to build rapport and connection with your audience, and how they can support you or others.

5 Call to action

The final and most important element of creating urgency in your stories is to have a clear and compelling call to action. A call to action is the specific action that you want your audience to take after listening to your story. It can be a purchase, a sign-up, a donation, a vote, a feedback, a referral, or anything else that is relevant to your goal and context. Your call to action should be simple, specific, and visible, and it should reinforce the urgency that you have created in your story. For example, you can use phrases like "act now", "don't wait", "join today", "claim your spot", or "get started" to prompt your audience to take action.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?