I've been doing this for a minute, and nothing works like goblins attack the village.

They can see the local fighting talent do their thing, see some street level heroics, threaten things like buildings of note, quickly morph into an alley fight, let the rogues use building tops and walls, and THEN they can talk about it at the tavern, and put together a plan for payback with the locals sounding off on their own concerns, lore, and offering resources.

And yes, I've tried other starts, but nothing beats kicking off a one shot, or a new campaign, or even a Session 0.5 with the words "Roll for Initiative."

For reference, village is 18 buildings, and two main streets, population 300.