The key to doing this quickly and reliably is of course to know what is the first part, so that you can "not do it". You will have an even better chance of success if you become familiar with how the rest of the call starts, so you can immediately start doing that.
There are many concepts and modifiers in Challenge dancing that depend on being able to divide a call into parts. In general, as a Challenge dancer you should be paying attention to the parts breakdown of each new call that you learn, where applicable. But you also need to know the parts of calls that you learned earlier, when parts were not as important. For that, you may need to do some additional study.
Note that not all calls are treated as having clearly-defined parts. There are also some calls that are not generally broken down entirely into parts, but which are considered to have a clearly-defined first part. The Finish concept is often applied to calls of this type.
Following is an exercise to help you become familiar with what you need to know to successfully apply the Finish concept. Each of the calls listed is one which has a commonly understood first part. For each call, fill in the first part, and then fill in how the rest of the call starts. In some cases, the action might not be the same for everybody, e.g., the centers might be doing one thing while the ends are doing something else; in those cases identify both actions and who does them. If you aren't sure, or you have no idea, go back and check the definition.
| Call | First Part | Next or Remaining Action |
| Right and Left Thru | ||
| Swing Thru | ||
| 1/4 Thru | ||
| Left Swing Thru | ||
| Left Remake | ||
| Mix | ||
| Swing and Mix | ||
| Pass to the Center | ||
| Pass the Ocean | ||
| Spin Chain Thru | ||
| Diamond Chain Thru | ||
| Triple Star Thru | ||
| Load the Boat | ||
| Spin Chain the Gears | ||
| Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears | ||
| Relay the Deucey | ||
| Relay the Top | ||
| Alter the Wave | ||
| Swing the Fractions | ||
| Tally Ho | ||
| Spin the Top | ||
| Peel the Top | ||
| Recycle | ||
| Coordinate | ||
| Motivate | ||
| Percolate | ||
| Relay the Shadow | ||
| Linear Cycle | ||
| Linear Action | ||
| Plenty | ||
| Cross Chain Thru | ||
| Dixie Diamond | ||
| Pass and Roll | ||
| The Axle |