We were lucky to catch up with Randall Kenneth Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Randall , thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I am my arts education. My career as an author, speaker, collaborator, innovator, and storyteller-for-hire all tracks back to my time spent acting, singing, dancing, public speaking, and, yes, marching across a football field with a saxophone in my hand.
Each artistic endeavor profoundly impacted my ability to think, better understand the human condition, and express myself.
However, as someone who has spent most of his life on stage, primarily as a comedic actor and improviser, though I expressed myself exceptionally well, I was always “on,” but I was also a very poor listener.
As opposed to listening to understand, I listened to respond–and when I say “respond,” I mean respond with a story! That had to change—and I changed it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As an author, speaker, podcaster, and communications consultant, I wear many hats, but the common thread connecting these professional chapeaus is storytelling. I am proud of have helped countless high-profile organizations develop their most powerful stories for the online or traditional media best suited to deliver their message.
However, a personal project launched in 2012, initially contrived to teach an overly chatty me to be a better listener, has had the most impact.
From 2012 to 2016, I was lucky to conduct over 100 best practices interviews for a personal-meets-professional-
With a Foreword by Peggy Post (The Emily Post Institute), my subsequent column-inspired book, “Show Me: Celebrities, Business Tycoons, Rock Stars, Journalists, Humanitarians, Attack Bunnies & More!,” was published in late 2016.
Missing the high from these powerful interactions, I began searching for a new storytelling challenge. In 2018, Susan Bennett (the original voice of Siri) supported me in the launch of JONES.SHOW podcast. Graciously described by recurring guest Erin Brockovich as “The best podcast and host ever,” I continued my laser focus on looking for the BEST in people. Podcast guests have included Pat Benatar, Bob Burg, Duane “Dog” Chapman, Desmond Child, Val Chmerkovskiy, Stephen M.R. Covey, Panache Desai, Stedman Graham, Lisa Guerrero, Dr. Judy Ho, Norman Lear, Jenifer Lewis, Melissa Rivers, Nischelle Turner, Vanna White, Ginger Zee, and more, including the late Suzanne Somers, Cindy Williams, and Mickey Kuhn, the last surviving cast member of GONE WITH THE WIND.
In 2022, “Chicken Soup for the Soul’s” Mark Victor Hansen discovered and published my first fiction book, my podcast-inspired “Ruby: Magic Comes from the Heart.” My husband and I recently moved to my Columbia, Missouri, hometown.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Again, I needed to learn to listen better. Due to my time spent as an actor and improviser, my life was too focused on entertaining others. I had neglected the benefits of the viewpoints and life experiences of others.
My second goal was to embrace my love of education even more. All I ever really wanted to be was a teacher. Though “teaching” (specifically public speaking) gave me another chance to entertain, lifelong learning would only happen if I put myself in a position to listen, learn, and build new content. After all, we have two ears and one mouth, and there MUST be a reason.
And finally, my success has always resulted from my love for people–for engagement. Though difficult, I have always tried to put judgment aside and look for the BEST in people. Find common ground. Despite our society’s anger-driven coping mechanisms, there’s a dire need for optimistic yet realistic people like me. There’s an equal need for more people to support “do-gooders” like me and not automatically land on the dark side of every issue.
My podcast interviews, books, keynote presentations, and creative thinking seminars—not to mention the scope of experience I bring to a client project—have all been profoundly enhanced by this extraordinary meet-and-greet process. Learning to listen has been the tip of my intellectual iceberg. Those who have taken the chair across from me have opened my eyes to new ways to live, think, play, work, and love.
Perhaps most interesting is that I was 50 when this personal quest began. Never tell me you can’t teach an old dog new tricks because I’ll show you a very lazy dog. There is no expiration date on our ability to create, inspire, and provide value.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I learned that the iconic Erin Brockovich was set to speak at a nearby conference, I lost my mind. Activist, environmentalist, and all-around badass Erin Brockovich, the subject of the 2000 film that earned Julia Roberts an Oscar, was coming to my town and I was fiercely determined to meet her.
When my various online and offline efforts to connect failed, I almost gave up. (Gasp!) But I stopped and thought about the film’s focus–what I knew to be Erin’s ultimate truth–and quickly had my answer.
So, I emailed one final request to Ms. Brockovich. This time, the message included a photo of a mischievous me holding a sign that read: ERIN BROCKOVICH DOESN’T GIVE UP EASILY EITHER. One minute later, I heard from my new BFF. She has been a guiding force in my life ever since.
Her word, which has become our word, is “sticktuitivness.” I had proven to her that I had that–and she LOVED It. And I love her.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.randallkennethjones.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randallkennethjones/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRKJ/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randallkennethjones/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/randallkjones
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RandallKennethJones/video
Image Credits