Aposiopesis is a rhetorical device where the speaker deliberately breaks off and leaves the sentence unfinished, letting the audience complete the thought in their own minds.

This can be used to convey overwhelming emotion or to imply something without stating it explicitly.

In a heated debate, someone might say, ‘If you keep doing that, I’ll…’ and then stop, letting the silence convey the threat or the intensity of their feelings.

When I offer storytelling training workshops, I introduce the Golden Rule of Storytelling: “Stories are always about people.”

After I’ve mentioned that a time or two, I’ll reintroduce it as a fill-in-the-blank statement:

Stories are always about…

That reinforces learning by asking the audience members to retrieve that small-but-important piece of information from their own memories. If they remember it, they’ll say it. If they don’t remember it, they’ll tag it as important and be ready to respond next time.

Aposiopesis will engage your audience’s imagination and emotions. They’ll think more deeply about what was left unsaid, which enhances the impact of your message.

Try using aposiopesis the next time you want to emphasize a point or create suspense in your narrative.