The Hook– A Lesson from the Bank Robber
(Perfecting Your Messaging in Four Parts: Part 1– The Hook)
Imagine you’re a bank robber. The job is planned to the last detail: you have exactly five minutes and fifteen seconds to be in and out. The bank is full and the last thing you need is for someone to have an agenda other than yours. As long as you are in the bank, there can be only one show– yours. Everyone must dance what you have orchestrated.
So as you burst through the door, you fire two shots into the ceiling.
Why? Because immediately before those shots, the place was not conducive to getting you in and out quickly with money. Staff and customers were going about their business. A teller and a pensioner were trading pleasantries, the first guy in line was checking e-mail and the manager was thinking about her vacation. But when the shots rang out, all of that stopped, and now there is only one story– yours.
In communication we call this the hook. If you want to succeed with your message, you need a hook. While I don’t recommend two slugs into the ceiling, if you want people to stop what they’re doing and listen to you, you need to start with a hook.
Imagine you’re a managing partner and you need buy-in on some very necessary but disruptive changes. How about opening with something like, “I think we’ve found a way for each of you to take home about 22% more without any increase in your billing targets.” I’m willing to bet that you have their attention. That’s a hook.
The hook can take many forms, but it always achieves the same thing: it turns the disinterested bystander into a rapt listener. A hook can be a compelling title, or it can be a riddle. A hook can be a brilliant logo, or it can be a coupon for a free sample. A hook can be a grabbing headline, or it can be a silly costume. What works depends on the audience and the circumstances, but there must be some magic about it.
Occasionally a hook can be spontaneous, and for such occasions we should be grateful. More often than not, however, the hook is as much perspiration as inspiration. Great hooks are usually the result of hard work– hard work understanding the needs and desires of the audience, hard work testing, hard work crafting, hard work practising, hard work delivering.
But is it worth it? Well, only if it matters whether people listen to your message.