The first sentence or text line should tell a new viewer what is interesting about the clip. The rest of the video should deliver it.

Watch the whole moment first

Write down the actual point, joke or lesson. Build the opening around that payoff. Keep any question or detail needed to understand the answer.

Be specific

Example hooks
VagueClearer, if the footage supports it
This changes everythingWhy our first hire went wrong
Nobody talks about thisThe extra cost of this camera
You need to hear thisHow I stopped overwatering my plants

Keep the speaker's meaning

Do not turn a guess into a fact, a joke into a serious claim, or a qualified answer into an absolute one. Check the words before and after the cut.

Try the opening on a phone

Keep text short enough to read over the footage. Leave room for captions and the app's controls. Watch the clip without remembering the full episode: can you understand it?

Use SlicePost's Editor to extend an incomplete opening or ending. Check the final export after the change.