What it is
A hook built around a posed question or yes/no prompt in the first seconds that pulls a small internal answer out of the viewer ("yes," "no," "wait, which one?"). Once they have silently committed to a position, they stay to see whether you confirm or overturn it. The commitment is theirs, not yours, which is what makes leaving feel like quitting mid-thought.
Why it works
It exploits commitment-and-consistency bias: once a person internally takes a stance, they feel pressure to see it validated, and abandoning the video means abandoning their own answer. Unlike a passive claim the viewer can ignore, a direct question forces micro-participation, converting a watcher into a respondent. The unresolved gap between their guess and your reveal creates a small open loop the brain wants closed, so the swipe-away impulse is overridden by the urge to check if they were right.
Example
A skincare clip opens on a face, no intro: "Quick, is this sunscreen or moisturizer? Pick one." A two-second beat lets the viewer commit. Then: "If you said moisturizer, that's exactly why your skin's breaking out." The viewer who guessed wrong now needs the explanation; the one who guessed right wants confirmation. Both stay through the payoff because the question made the answer personally theirs.
How to use it
Write a first-line question with a clear, binary, or guessable answer so the viewer can actually commit fast, not a vague "ever wonder why?" Force the decision: add "pick one," "yes or no," or "guess before I tell you," then leave a one-to-two-second beat of silence or a frozen frame for them to answer internally. Make your reveal explicitly address both possible answers ("if you said X... if you said Y...") so no viewer feels off the hook. Resolve within the video; never leave the committed question dangling, or you train viewers to distrust your hooks.
