Stop saying things that don’t add value

Speaking
Written By Liam Sandford

In the early parts of my career I was labeled ‘a man of few words’.

What initially came across as something negative turned out to be a great strength. You may have heard that only 7% of communication is what you say. The rest comes from body language and tone of voice. In other words, you don’t need to shout loud to effectively deliver a message. In fact that can hurt you ability to connect with people.

Often, people say more words in attempt to make people understand more, in the hope that if they keep talking they are giving more valuable information. This is not the case. Value does not come from the number of words you say, but from the clarity of message.

That is the value of being ‘a man of few words’. I am selective with my words. If it does not add value I simply don’t say it. Generally speaking I am one of the biggest introverts you could meet and often the quietest person in a room.

Less but better

When you say less, it increases the value of what you say — people listen because they know something important is about to be said. Even better, the message is clear and concise because everything adds value. This removes room for interpretation and ensures you land the specific message you want to deliver.

Less does not mean blunt — this is something I have heard before. Less means focusing on what will actually add value to your audience, or who you are communicating with. Everything should be about them. It only needs to be said if it will make their lives easier or it adds value to them. Everything else is noise that can add confusion.

Start practicing this using the nano speech. Plan your opening, body and close to deliver a quick nano speech that opens a conversation, delivers your main point and hands it over to the other person. It does not have to be more than 10 seconds.

Self-awareness

If you ever think you are speaking for too long, you are. Stop. The second you realize you have been talking for too long is way later than your audience have realized it.

Your self-awareness is a critical tool for life. For public speaking, your external self-awareness is key — your ability to see how your behaviour is impacting those around you. Are you talking for too long? Are you helping them with the problem, or are you sharing something that you thought they needed but never checked that actually solved the problem.

Spend your time listening and gathering insights into what your audience need. If you are connecting with someone new who might be a target customer, take time to understand their pain points, why they have those pain points, and take that information away to craft something that will help that person. If one person in your audience feels that way the chances are others will too. Listening is your friend and helps your self-awareness by understanding the value of your content against the problem you are trying to solve for people.

Quiet sales

Let’s face it, we all hate being sold to. Yet when you have something to sell or pitch (even if it is just an idea) the hard sell is the first thing you go to. Take time to understand:

  • The pain points of your audience

  • Who makes the decision (and what is important to them)

  • What you are asking and why

  • How your solution addresses the problem at the root cause

  • Where your audience is right now.

Without these pieces you run the risk of being longwinded, or missing the point when it comes to selling your idea or product. You have to meet people where they are and the best way to do that is quiet sales. Listen, understand their pain points and then specifically address them — even if it is months later.

Stop going for a gung-ho approach. Go for a quiet communication approach. Focus on relationship building and make everything about the audience. This will help the conversion of your audience into customers.

Actionable takeaways

  • Practice the principle of ‘less but better’. Use the nano speech to carefully craft landing your message and giving a call to action — 10 seconds is all it takes when you are first starting.

  • If you think you have been talking for too long, you have. When you realize this, stop — you are confusing the audience with words that do not add value.

  • Use the quiet sales approach to communication. Be relationship based and truly understand the problems that people have. You have to meet your audience where they are at.

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Liam Sandford
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