Hooks

5 min

The three-second rule, and when to break it

Why the first frame matters more than the first line, and three openings that keep working.

A phone filming a flat white on a wooden café table

Most people decide in the first three seconds. That's why we treat the first frame like a magazine cover: one subject, one idea, no logo.

The opening that works best for us is a result shown before the process. The finished latte, the clean chain, the sold-out shelf. People stay to see how you got there.

Break the rule when the story is slow by nature. A pour, a stitch, a repair. Then the hook is the calm itself, and the sound does the work.

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