# Angles before hooks

Story / Test and publish / Before posting. Checked 2026-11-13.

Tests answer the bigger question first.

- Use when: Planning a round of creative tests.
- Phrase: test two to five angles, each with its own natural hook, then three or four hooks inside the winning angle
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/publish/angles-before-hooks
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/publish/angles-before-hooks.json

## Watch out

- A hook belongs to its angle and does not carry across angles; five hooks on one angle are one data point. (practitioner; Director Chair field notes on hooks and ideas)

## Prompts

### Any chat model

```
Give me a step-by-step plan I can follow this week, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is angles before hooks: tests answer the bigger question first. How it works: test two to five angles, each with its own natural hook, then three or four hooks inside the winning angle. It is right for: planning a round of creative tests. A hook belongs to its angle and does not carry across angles; five hooks on one angle are one data point. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing.
```

## Goes well with

- One variable per test: https://directorchair.ai/publish/test-matrix-one-variable
- A hook has three jobs: https://directorchair.ai/hook/hook-three-jobs

## Source

Own words from Director Chair field notes on hooks and ideas

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.