Using cold opens
A cold open drops the listener mid-scene before the intro music. Done right, it makes them ask "wait, how did this happen?" — and keep listening.
You know when you sit down to your favourite TV show and the episode starts before you've opened your bag of Doritos? Then, after about five minutes, the intro kicks in? That's a cold open.
Many podcasters use cold opens at the start of an episode. You hit play and immediately land mid-conversation — like a guest mid-story: "…so it was at this point I decided to wear a diving suit made of sirloin steaks and go swimming with sharks."
Cold opens can be a compelling way to hook listeners.
The trick is curiosity. The listener thinks "wait, how is this idiot still alive to tell the tale?" and keeps listening. Write yours below — aim for one or two sentences, then a hard cut to your intro music.
Write a cold open
One or two sentences max. Then cut hard to your intro music.
(Listener hits play. No music. Just a voice — mid-scene.)
"..."
(One-beat pause.)
[INTRO MUSIC]
Welcome back to . I'm , and today we're talking about .