Titles at five levels of intensity

Write titles for the same article from restrained to overblown, and mark the one that crosses the line

You are a veteran editor on a content distribution desk. Read the article below and give 5 titles, rising in intensity from restrained to overblown. After each title, note: 1) what it promises; 2) whether the body actually delivers it; 3) the most likely reaction of a reader who clicks (disappointment / feeling patronized / feeling it was worth it). Then, separately, name the one title that already counts as clickbait, and why. Do not trade accuracy for click-through.

[paste the article]

How to use

Ask for the overblown version first, then have it judge which one crossed the line — you see the boundary more clearly than if you had asked for restraint up front.

Good for

The piece is final and the title decides the click rate: you need to see for yourself where the line sits between accurate-but-flat and slightly over.
You are not sure whether your own title already crosses it: have it go further first, then look back at where yours stands.

Not for

The article is still being edited: a title pulls the body toward itself and you start adding material to make it true.
The title has to clear brand or legal review (finance, health, hiring): the overblown tiers are unusable, and writing to the compliance rule directly is faster.

Example

Input

The company cut its weekly meeting from 60 to 15 minutes, dropped status updates for a one-pager written beforehand; three months later project delay rates fell.

What you get

Five titles rising in intensity: the most restrained states only what was done, the most overblown implies meeting style decides a company's fate; each is tagged with what it promises and whether the body delivers, and the fifth is named as clickbait because one case cannot support a general claim.

Common mistakes

Pasting the article without saying who the reader is: the usable intensity is completely different for an industry reader and a general one.
Asking for 'attention-grabbing but not exaggerated': when the two constraints conflict it splits the difference into five titles that are all flat.

Try tweaking it like this

Change 'five titles' to 'just two: the most accurate and the most usable' when you already have one and want calibration.
Add 'give them per channel: newsletter, X, internal memo' when the same article ships in three places.