It’s always tempting to explain at length, to ramble on and indulge in hearing yourself sound very intellectual.
But I’ve come to find that more often that not a lengthy answer just labours the point and bores the listeners.
I can understand the occasional anxiety on behalf of the speaker as his answer is met with stony silence, he thinks ‘did they understand what i said?’ He then proceeds to make entirely sure he got his message across.
In my opinion it is an extremely underrated skill and amazing discipline to hit the nail on the head, give exactly what the questioner was looking for, in as few words as possible and in a way that they understand it fully.
I find it immensely impressive and worryingly rare amongst many conversations both in and out of the workplace.
Seth Godin is a brilliant example of this. Watch any one of his many interviews on Youtube and you will see instantly what I am describing.
It’s like he slows down time, thinks about the question, formulates his answer to be as short and as clear as possible and then answers, all taking place in a few milliseconds.
He is something else.
Thomas Duggan 