Hook Design

Use this skill after the broad opening route is known and before prompt writing gets too concrete.

This skill is for:

• turning rough hook ideas into a stable Hook Brief
• making product reveal timing explicit
• replacing generic hook language with self-identifying specificity
• giving later skills a clean opening logic handoff

This skill is not for:

• choosing the segment family from scratch
• writing the final storyboard grid
• writing provider-ready prompts
• giving final pre-generation approval

Core Rule

The opening should create a concrete viewer question before the content feels like an ad.

Do not let the product appear before the hook logic is doing visible work.

Treat the hook as a mechanism choice, not a line-polishing exercise.

Method

Read hook-principles.md.

Use examples.md to sanity-check whether the output is stable enough to hand off.

Default Workflow

1. Confirm the upstream route

If the segment type or route is still unclear, use pattern-router first.

Do not let this skill replace routing.

2. Classify the hook problem

Choose the closest working need:

• rough hook idea that needs structure
• opening line that sounds generic
• product reveal that happens too early
• hook critique that needs rerun direction

Then identify the dominant Hook mechanism.

Hook Mechanism Taxonomy

Choose one primary mechanism before polishing the line.

1. boldClaim

Use when:

• the opening should challenge a stale belief
• the brand has a clear contrarian stance
• the viewer will pause to evaluate whether the claim is true

Common failure:

• vague provocation with no proof path

2. questionGap

Use when:

• the viewer has a real unanswered question
• the hook should open an information gap, not a dramatic claim
• the body can answer the question quickly

Common failure:

• generic questions with obvious answers

3. proofFirst

Use when:

• trust is the main barrier
• visible evidence or numbers can appear early
• the result is more compelling than the setup

Common failure:

• exaggerated proof with no visible credibility

4. painRecognition

Use when:

• the audience already lives with the pain
• self-identification is stronger than novelty
• the problem needs more specificity, not more hype

Common failure:

• broad category language that fits everyone and therefore no one

5. patternInterrupt

Use when:

• the first second must feel different immediately
• feed sameness is the problem
• the content benefits from a jolt before explanation

Common failure:

• shock without relevance to the next beat

6. socialOrIdentityStake

Use when:

• the pain is really about confidence, status, belonging, or presentation
• the social consequence is more legible than the technical problem

Common failure:

• melodrama that overwhelms the product logic

3. Lock the hook brief before prompt writing

Print this block first:

Hook goal:
Audience state:
Specific pain or desire:
Viewer self-identification cue:
Hook mechanism:
Opening line or opening move:
Listener reaction:
Problem deepening:
Product reveal rule:
Why this mechanism fits:
Success metric:
Hook risks:
Next handoff:

This is the required handoff object for downstream work.

4. Choose the next skill

• If the route is still unclear, go back to pattern-router
• If references exist and need decoding, hand off to reference-decode
• If the mechanism depends on frame-one conflict or visual proof, hand off to visual-hook
• If a prompt already exists, hand off to prompt-preflight-qa

Writing Rules

• make the viewer question concrete
• prefer self-recognition over category language
• choose one dominant mechanism before drafting variations
• keep listener reaction short and believable
• deepen the problem before revealing the product
• make product timing explicit instead of implied
• define success as a diagnostic signal, not a vanity metric

Failure Mode

Stop and say the hook is under-specified if you cannot determine at least:

• what the viewer should recognize about themselves
• what question the opening should create
• what mechanism is carrying the stop-scroll job
• whether the product must stay out of the opening
• which downstream skill should receive the handoff

Do not let later skills guess the opening logic from vague taste words.

More Files

• hook-principles.md
• examples.md

Limitations

This skill only handles hook-mechanism selection and hook-brief construction.

It does not validate first-frame strength, benchmark fidelity, narrative fit across later beats, or pre-generation prompt risk.

In Practice

Most teams also need:

• upstream route selection
• reference decoding
• visual-hook translation
• preflight QA before generation

Without those steps, a strong hook brief can still degrade into generic prompts, early product reveal, or weak visual openings.

Orchestrated Workflows

In practice, most hook problems are workflow problems, not single-step problems.

Systems like PostPlus handle this as an orchestrated chain, where routing, hook design, reference decoding, visual execution, and QA are connected automatically.