WEBVTT - Say less

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to say less. There is almost never a

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<v Speaker 1>case where talking more will make your original point more clear.

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<v Speaker 1>Say what you are going to say, and then just stop.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip was inspired by a bit of advice in

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<v Speaker 1>Bill McGowan's new book, Speak Memorably. McGowan is a communications

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<v Speaker 1>coach and has worked with many people to help them

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<v Speaker 1>present better. McGowen is often trying to get people to

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<v Speaker 1>edit their remarks. In his book, he mentions that we

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<v Speaker 1>might rationally know that a concise talk or answer is best,

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<v Speaker 1>But somewhere rummaging around in the backs of our brains,

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<v Speaker 1>is this fallacy that the longer I talk, the more

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<v Speaker 1>convincing I'm going to be. He writes. Perhaps you have

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<v Speaker 1>seen this. You are at a lovely non profit fundraiser

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<v Speaker 1>that is outside on a summer night. The president of

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<v Speaker 1>the group gets up to welcome people. He says how

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<v Speaker 1>excited he is that everyone is there. He thanks everyone

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<v Speaker 1>for coming. Then he mentions again how excited he is

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<v Speaker 1>that everyone is there, And did he thank everyone for everything? Yet,

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<v Speaker 1>what a lovely evening, he is so excited, and so

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<v Speaker 1>on it goes. Eventually everyone is desperately hoping to get

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<v Speaker 1>back to the food and their conversations. So please don't

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<v Speaker 1>do that. If there is any chance you will be

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<v Speaker 1>called upon to say a few words, and I do

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<v Speaker 1>mean a few words, then think ahead of time about

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<v Speaker 1>what you will say. Practice and time yourself, practice again,

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<v Speaker 1>and see if you can cut out any of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Whatever you are going to say, say it once and

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<v Speaker 1>then stop. You are not more convincing the longer you talk. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>whatever good will you began with evaporates and people just

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to hear any more. They start hoping you

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<v Speaker 1>will stop, which is not really a good relationship to

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<v Speaker 1>be in with any sort of listener. This is true

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<v Speaker 1>for speaking and meetings as well. If you have a

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<v Speaker 1>point to make, make it, then stop repeating the same

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<v Speaker 1>point a second time tends not to reinforce it. It

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<v Speaker 1>just wastes every one's time. Same if you are asking

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<v Speaker 1>a question in a public speaking situation, a question should

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<v Speaker 1>be a sentence or two with a question mark at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of it. This should not be a speech

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<v Speaker 1>in its own right, made because the person put their

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<v Speaker 1>hand up before organizing their thoughts. Sometimes people say more

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<v Speaker 1>because they are nervous, But if this is any sort

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<v Speaker 1>of hostile situation, even better to say less. You don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to accidentally say more than you meant to and

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<v Speaker 1>incriminate anyone. If you think about it, no one ever says, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>I wish those welcoming remarks at dinner went on a

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<v Speaker 1>lot longer. So say less. You are more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>get your point across and everyone will be happier. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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