The hook should evoke something strong: humor, curiosity, a “wow” emotion, or a “WTF” moment. Your story should be so compelling that people want to share it with others. Likeability helps when building trust.

The insight

• Attention is scarce. In a world overloaded with messages (social media, ads, noise), the hook is your gatekeeper. If you fail in seconds, you lose the chance.
• People don’t follow ideas—they follow people. The “mascot + conviction” combo anchors the message in a person they can invest in.
• Trust is the oxygen of influence. Without trust, your message is ignored or dismissed. But with it, even tough truths land.
• Stories move hearts; numbers move minds. You need both, but stories open the emotional door.
• Likeability softens resistance. When someone is witty, warm, or relatable, we forgive more and lean in more.

Build a story arc that people want to follow

1. Human mascot + human conviction Use a relatable human figure (a “mascot”) and show strong conviction. People root for people.
2. Build a narrative arc Start by finding the overlap between what you care about and what the other person cares about. Then pull them into your circle (your worldview). The visual Venn-diagram shows that sweet overlap is where you speak.
3. What works in storytelling
   • A Hook (grab attention)
   • How you tell the story
   • Where you tell the story And your distribution can itself be through people telling others (“word of mouth”)—so compelling it spreads.
4. The Hook The first few seconds matter:
   • A clip’s first 5 seconds
   • The first paragraph in writing
   • The subject line
   • The first line in a tweet And the hook should evoke something strong: humor, curiosity, a “wow” emotion, or a “WTF” moment.

• We listen when we trust the person. Trust is built when:
  1. You are not a stranger
  2. You establish a set of shared values
• Likeability helps when building trust. If someone is funny or warm, people are more willing to lean in even when they disagree. Funny people are more likeable.
• Also: even if your message is uncomfortable, meeting people in real life (IRL) makes it harder to dismiss you.

Lulu Cheng is the former VP Communications of Substack.