A “hot take” can be a great hook for engagement when sharing content about your domain expertise. It’s also a pretty popular device in thought leadership content because it inherently tees up a differentiated POV.

When used properly, a ‘hot take’ can challenge the status quo, introduce a new perspective, or highlight the pitfalls of a common approach.

But beware: like most things, the ‘hot take’ loses its impact when overused.

Plus, no one likes learning from this guy:

If you’re going to use 'hot takes':

1. Use them sparingly, not as a default format for your content
2. Pay attention to your tone:
   ❌ everyone else is wrong, here’s the right way
   ​✅ here’s a current norm or way of thinking → have you ever thought about it this way
3. Explain how you evolved into this differentiated POV yourself
4. Provide examples or analogies that help the audience evolve as well

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Or put more simply: Teach. Don’t Preach.

💡

-Wes