I’ve always enjoyed a good courtroom drama.  The maneuvering – the intrigue – the excitement!  By watching those shows, you can learn a great deal about what to do, and what not to do.  It’s always fascinating to watch when a lawyer is held in contempt of court.  This occurs when a lawyer has been accused of being disrespectful, “in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court.”  The consequences are a fine, imprisonment, or both.

Sometimes I wish I had the power of a judge, especially when a conversation has gone bad. When I’ve heard enough of a misdirected conversation, I’d like to hold the offender in contempt of conversation.  This would occur when a person acts disrespectfully to a customer, in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of his or her profession.  What exactly would fall into the category of contempt of conversation?  Here are three examples:

Leading The Witness 

In a courtroom, when a lawyer utilizes a form of questioning that directs a witness to answer in a way expected by the lawyer, the lawyer can be accused of leading the witness.  It can intimidate, and fluster, a witness. A salesperson can make the same mistake through sloppy questioning that restricts the customer’s responses. The mistake is usually created by asking too many closed questions in a rapid-fire delivery.  It can intimidate and fluster a customer.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to avoid being held in contempt of conversation. The key is to open the questions up by using classic open probes.  You might be asking questions that begin with “Do you…?  Are you…?  Will you…? What you need to do is ask questions that begin with, “What…?  How…? Why…?”  When you open your probes up, you don’t create conflict; you create a conversation.

Overloading Questions

In a courtroom, sometimes you’ll see a lawyer attempt to ask a question that is way too detailed and complex.  You’ll see this mistake on display in one of my favorite scenes in the movie, “A Few Good Men.” There’s a wonderful scene with Tom Cruise asking a question that takes so long to ask, the opposing lawyer makes an objection to the judge.  He asks: “Your honor, is there a question anywhere in sight?!”  That same mistake can be made by overloading questions, or combining too many thoughts into one question.  It can confuse and frustrate a customer.

To avoid being held in contempt of conversation, all you need to do is shorten your questions.  Don’t worry about cramming as much as you can into a question.  Instead, try and break up the questions you ask into smaller questions. Your reward will be helping to put the customer at ease because, by making your questions easier to answer, you’re creating a normal, authentic conversation.

Inappropriate Language

Inappropriate language. In a courtroom, when a lawyer disrespects a witness or a member of the court by using unsuitable language, there can be repercussions.  The same mistake can be made when a salesperson belittles the current situation a customer is in.  He or she might challenge the response of a customer, or tell the customer the consequences of his or her actions.

I’m not going to tell you to shy away from difficult situations that may make customers uncomfortable. That’s a responsibility we have to our customers.  However, to avoid being held in contempt of conversation, you must, once again, keep your questions open and display true empathy. Make sure you let the customer paint the picture for you, … and not the other way around!

The next time you’re watching a courtroom drama, you’ll probably pay closer attention to the courtroom scenes. Clearly, no one wants to be held in contempt of court.  The consequences of being held in contempt of conversation aren’t quite as severe as a fine, jail, or both, but you can count on one result.  A lost opportunity.

 

 

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 dare I say, entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

 

 

 

I recently appeared on, “It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee,” a fun podcast with Stuart Webb.   You can listen to the podcast here:

• On Facebook com/INRSFQOC
• On Youtube – https://youtu.be/KJBK0dm-VaU
• On Linkedin – com/posts/stuartwebb_a-sought-after-speaker-and-best-selling-author-activity-6858787689332920320-zhxC

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