6 Proven Ways To Captivate Your Readers

No tricks or gimmicks needed for your personal stories and thought leadership pieces.

Hello, hello. It’s Michael here, from the Writing to (L)Earn team. Today we’re diving into how to pull people into your world in your introductory sentences — aka crafting effective hooks. Let’s get to it.

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The BBC published a fascinating article a few years ago entitled, The Dying Art of the Great Song Intro. In the 80s, on average, lead singers of bands didn’t sing their first lyric until more than 20 seconds into the song. However, when the article was published in 2017, that number dropped to five seconds — and I have a hard time imagining that ship has since turned.

Whether we agree with it or not, hooks matter. If you don’t grab people’s attention in the first few sentences, they’ll move on to the next shiny title.

One of the best parts of having a catalog of past stories and articles is that patterns emerge regarding the techniques that work best for us.

A few years ago, I received an invitation to give storytelling workshops at a university in Barcelona. While the offer thrilled me, it also left me uneasy as I struggled to think where to even begin.

A mentor’s advice helped me focus: “Start where you always start—with your introductions. There’s bound to be some commonality regarding how you kick off your stories.” Sure enough, when I reviewed my work, I quickly realized the man was right.

In addition to sharing three of my favorite ways to kick off stories, we’re going to explore three ways Darius immediately engages readers in his thought leadership pieces.

How to stick the first few lines of your story

1. Drop readers into the middle of a conversation

Imagine you sit down at a bar and hear a woman say to her husband, “How do you ever expect me to trust you again?” If you’re anything like me, you’d forget immediately about your late car payment as you’d be dying to know how their conversation plays out.

When writing stories, the same rule applies. Drop people into the middle of a conversation as it’s a surefire way to pique your reader’s curiosity. Then backtrack to fill in only the relevant details readers need to know before driving the dialogue and story forward.

Here are two examples from my stories:

• “I can’t believe I just paid $3,000 to miss my kid’s first birthday.” (Source)

• “We gotta get moving!” (Source)

In the first example, the chances are good you’d continue reading to learn why I paid the equivalent of a new Apple desktop to miss my kid’s birthday. In the second example, this simple lead-in opens two doors in the reader’s mind: Who am I with and why do we have to get moving?

Dialogue is an indicator of an incredibly important storytelling point — something is happening — but you lack the essential context… unless you read further.

2. Lead with introspection

The simplest definition of a story is the retelling of a character navigating a challenge.

When we face challenges, our thoughts are often filled with fear and doubt. So start your story by sharing those feelings—it might feel scary, but those vulnerable moments often create the strongest connections.

Here are two examples from my own stories:

• “What am I doing here? I thought to myself. This isn’t for me. I’m way out of my element.” (Opening lines of my book)

• “I didn’t understand what was happening the first time I was taken to see the man in the hospital. I was young. But I knew it wasn’t good.” (Source)

One thing we all share as humans is that feeling of walking into a room and thinking, “I don’t belong here,” or sensing that something isn’t right. Even if the details of our experiences differ, the emotions we feel in uncomfortable moments are often the same.

When readers see something of themselves in your story, you’ve officially won their attention.

3. Throw people straight into the action

This is the most common way to begin a story. Its usage can be seen littered throughout history and in many of the best opening movie scenes like Trainspotting (police chase), Saving Private Ryan (war scene), and the ultimate personal story film, Goodfellas — where three men pull their car over at night, open their trunk, and proceed to stab the man they have stuffed inside of it before actor Ray Liotta says in a cool voice, “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”

When in doubt, you can’t go wrong using this strategy. If readers love anything, it’s being transported out of their everyday lives and thrown into a new world. By starting with action, readers simply must know what’s going on and what happens next.

Here are two examples from my own stories:

• “It was the fourth week of quarantine when my wife began to cry.” (Source)

• “The woman sat at her kitchen table, staring at the four names laid out in front of her. Her left hand was shaking. Despite being 83 years old, her heart raced with the same intensity as it did when she had her first crush as a teenager.” (Source)

One of the keys to effectively dropping readers into the action is to not give too many details about the context and circumstances. I don’t immediately explain why my wife is crying and I don’t reveal why the woman is nervous about the four names in front of her.

By holding back information, we create tension. It makes readers uneasy, in a good kind of way.

They simply must know what lies on the other side of the door you’ve opened.

Writing thought leadership pieces that grab your readers’ attention

4. Begin with a contrarian statement

Contrarian statements grab attention because they immediately promise something unexpected or unconventional. This approach works particularly well in thought leadership, where readers are looking for ideas that stand out.

Here are two examples from Darius’s work:

• “Many of us believe in this false notion that you have to master a skill to achieve career success.” (Source)

• “People used to think that reaching a certain age meant your brain stopped evolving.” (Source)

The best thing about a contrarian statement is that it makes people stop and think.

By flipping a common belief on its head, you grab readers’ attention and set the tone for a fresh perspective. It’s a simple way to show your audience that you’re not afraid to challenge the norm.

5. Ask a provocative question (that matters to your audience)

The human brain can’t resist a question, especially one that touches on something personal. When you ask the right question, it makes your readers curious about your perspective.

Let’s look at two examples from Darius’s writing:

• “What makes a good decision? When I ask people that question, I often get answers like: ‘When the outcome is successful.’” (Source)

• “What does it take to be considered ‘rich,’ and how much should you earn to be ‘wealthy’”? (Source)

These openings work because they’re not just any questions—they’re questions that challenge the reader’s assumptions or make them reflect on something they might never have thought about before. They invite readers into a conversation they can’t ignore.

6. Use numbers to spark curiosity and credibility

A surprising statistic (or percentage) grabs attention because it promises insight into “how” or “why” something unusual happened.

Here are several examples from Darius:

• “Last year, 1,320 people bought one of my courses. And 54% of those sales came from existing customers.” (Source)

• “Think about how you’d feel if your investment dropped by 20% in a year.” (Source)

• “I recently read an alarming statistic about the health of workers in The Netherlands. Compared to before the pandemic, 13% more people took sick leave due to mental reasons.” (Source)

By taking something abstract—like customer loyalty or financial loss—and making it tangible; you’re telling a story.

But the real hook comes from the curiosity you’ve sparked: Why did so many customers return? What caused such a dramatic drop in health or finances? The key is using stats that not only surprise but also set the stage for the deeper story or lesson you’re about to share.

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Everything starts with a great introduction.

I’ve used these techniques in my own stories as well as with hundreds of students, and I can confidently say they all make a difference. So, the next time you sit down to write, try one of these strategies. See how it resonates with your audience, and most importantly, have fun with it and never stop trying new things.

If you take just one thing away from this, let it be this: Your opening line is your first impression with your readers. Make it memorable.

Until next time, keep writing and learning.

— Michael, with Darius & John