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Setting Yourself Apart by NOT Talking
As a confidence coach who does a lot of training and coaching on executive presence and effective communication, I am always quick to point out to my clients that they are most powerful when they are NOT talking.
This is counterintuitive to how most people were taught to think about communication. After all, isn’t it when I am talk that I am communicating?!?
Think about this from a listener’s standpoint — when someone is talking, what are you often doing? Are you listening intentionally, making sure to understand before you respond? Chances are, more often that not, you’re either thinking about what you’re going to say next or jumping in before the person was even done saying what they were going to say.
The best communicators don’t say much, but what they do say matters.
One reason for this is they don’t think out loud. Most people decide what they’re going to say as they hear it come out of their mouths! There’s no pause before they open their mouths. Effective communicators take a moment to get clarity in their minds about what they’re going to say before they open their mouths.
Challenge yourself to try this — become a better communicator by becoming a better listener; a really good listener. Allow people to finish what they are saying before you jump in. Actually hear what…
