If you read a lot of blogs and do some writing yourself, you are very familiar with headlines like “The two things a business owner should never do,” “Five reasons why Facebook is a bad investment,” or “Six steps to success.”
I use titles like those all the time. I do it for the same reasons others do it, to gain attention. Given the volume of information coming at all of us, we make split second decisions to engage or not. A good title can make all the difference. Sometimes these intriguing titles are supported with great information. Those are my favorite blogs. Other times, these pithy titles turn out to the best part of the blog (like a great trailer for a bad movie).
Exercise Critical Thinking
My warning to readers is to exercise critical thinking as you read these blogs. I saw two in the same day recently related to how business owners should spend their time. One was emphatic that an owner should never be in charge of sales and the other was making a strong case for why an owner should see themselves as the head of sales. I’m not going to comment, on which point of view I agree with, that’s not important to the topic here. My point is that we should all be careful to take one opinion, based on one set of life experiences, and immediately try to think about how that affects us. Consider that the story or viewpoint might be useless for you.
I’m not saying we should ignore what anyone else thinks. That would be stupid and arrogant. I am encouraging you to exercise critical thinking. Read carefully to determine what led the author to their conclusions and let that play a role in how you process and use the information.
Look for a Great Title
When you write a blog, by all means, search for a great title. Then, as you express your thoughts in writing, look for ways to disclose what information or experiences lead you to your conclusions. That will help the reader figure out how the information can help them (or not). As for the title of this blog… I don’t have five reasons. Sorry. I just have my life experiences and opinions. Some can be very helpful to you and others, not so much.
