Rewrite the opening so it earns the next line

A first paragraph that warms up for three sentences before starting.

Here is the opening of a piece. Diagnose it, then fix it.

1. Find the sentence where the piece actually starts. Often everything before it can be deleted.
2. Say what the current opening asks the reader to do before giving them a reason to care.
3. Write five alternative openings: one that states the surprising claim immediately, one that opens on a concrete scene or example, one that names the reader's problem, one that opens mid-thought, one that is a single short sentence.
4. Recommend one and say why it fits this piece specifically.

No rhetorical questions. No dictionary definitions. No "in today's fast-paced world".

Opening:

Structure and flow. Order, openings, endings, headlines and the joins that hold a piece together.