Here’s a quick, rhetorical question for you; how do you like the title of this BLArticle®?  I’m assuming that it may have created a little bit of curiosity, but more importantly, I’m hoping that this title gave you a good idea of what this piece was about. Furthermore, I’m trusting that you followed that hunch to read further.  Well, that’s always what I thought would happen, but the way I title my work has been a theme that I’ve struggled with for decades.

For years, I’ve held the line, refused to give in, and have felt “Clever Beats Clear.” I’ve had publicists ask me to reconsider – fellow writers ask me to reconsider – and readers ask me to reconsider. Even my BLArticle® editor… who happens to be my wife, has asked me to reconsider.  My response has been a stubborn one: “No, I need to be true to my message, and I’m a fan of clever messages!”  I want my readers to be curious.  I want people to read a title like this clever BLArticle® from the past: “Finishing Touches,” and think, “I’m not sure where he’s going here, but I’m going along for the ride to find out!”  I just couldn’t bear the thought of replacing a title like that with something that spells out the body of the message like, “Three Surefire Ways to Handle Questions from Audiences.”  Yuk!!

My “Finishing Touches” title was a work of art; that’s why I used it, and that’s how I posted it.  I’m able to find out the statistics of exactly how many people click past the email title and short blurb in order to read the Blarticle. For those who do make that trip, I can see how long they stay for.  Unfortunately, that particular piece with the clever title, got a surprisingly low number of clicks to actually read it, but for those who did, the data show they actually stayed longer than average to read it.  See, I told you it was a good piece!  And then I started to think…

If no one reads it, what else matters? Then I thought some more.  

I’ve noticed that the clearer the title, the more visitors I have.  That applies to every BLArticle®, Pocket Sized Pep Talk, and YouTube video I post. It’s not really close.  There’s a lot of content out there, and people can only visit, read, listen or view so much for so long.  Do you know how many websites there are?  There are almost 200 million active sites, with people staying less than 15 seconds.  There are 600 million blogs, with people staying less than 96 seconds.  There are 800 million YouTube videos, with people staying less than two minutes. 

Do you see a common thread here?  There’s a lot of content out there, and not only do we need to be clear to attract audiences, we need to be clear to hold on to them. How many times have you seen an advertisement that was incredibly clever, but you had no idea what they were selling?  I fell into that same trap, but I’m working my way out of it.  You need to as well, or you run the risk of sounding like this guy, who sat down for an interview a few years ago and was quoted as saying this:

“Titles created by writers are like works of art created by artists.  One should be true to his or her thoughts, honor that artform, and not be swayed by titles simply because they attract social media views.”

I know that guy well, because that quote came from me. Come to one of my seminars, or listen to a podcast, and I promise, I’ll do my best to give you a steady dose of clever!  But the numbers don’t lie, and I’m jumping on the clear title bandwagon.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to bring myself to put out one of those, “Five Ways to ___________” (fill in the blank,) but I have adjusted my opinion and continue to remind myself that, assuming I want someone to actually see or hear what I’m creating, clear really does beat clever.

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!”  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and oh yes; entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

I took another spin on, “The Abundant Accountant” podcast, and talked about a number of issues including  why sales training so often fails found here:  https://theabundantaccountant.com/episode-101-why-sales-training-for-accountants-and-tax-firm-owners-fails-and-how-to-avoid-it-with-rob-jolles

I was also on, “It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee,” a fun podcast with Stuart Webb.   You can listen to the podcast here: https://thecompleteapproach.substack.com/p/five-questions-over-coffee-with-rob#details

If you are looking for something to listen to on your next coffee break you might enjoy this brief chat between me and Tom Bailey, Founder of Succeed Through Speaking and the Succeed Through Speaking podcast. Listen closely if you would like some high value ideas to boost your business results.

You can read the transcript here – https://bit.ly/3BOfU7o

You can watch the podcast here – https://youtu.be/w-QgGvweE2M

You can listen to the podcast here – https://apple.co/2YVGWuN

I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani.  We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success. 

   Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube

If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here:  https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/

I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.  We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman

I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show.  As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!”  If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles

I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall.  His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.”  I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472

I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website.  We just sat down a few weeks ago for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories.  Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We posted a video series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb.  We go over some great stuff including:

• How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
• Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
• How to Look Like a Pro!
• Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
• Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations

You’ll find the whole playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL

I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/

I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/

After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?”  Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden.  If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s