The Three Requirements

Effective calls to action have three requirements: specific, achievable, and immediate. "Be better communicators" fails all three. "Before your next meeting, write down the one point you want the group to take away" nails all three with one sentence.

The specificity requirement is where most calls fail. Vague requests like "think about this" give the audience nothing concrete. Specificity removes the hesitation that stalls action. Tell them exactly what to do, when, and how.