5 reasons why you should always say less than necessary

Save your energy for when it counts

Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash

There is a certain flair about people who speak little, the people who walk the walk, those who don’t say anything because they don’t have to. Their results speak for themselves.

We spend so much of our lives talking, filling silences, trying to be the dominant man or woman in the room. Talking does not always impress. What if we were to be quieter? What if we were to just pipe down, shut up, hold our tongue? How can we profit from silence?

Say no more.

Saying less than necessary helps you:

1. Get significantly more done and achieve your goals.
2. Gain knowledge faster and more efficiently.
3. Form better relationships.
4. Gain power.
5. Achieve clarity.

Let your lifestyle be proof enough of rigorous discipline, hard work, patience…

1. Achieve your goals.

“It’s not what you say but what you do that defines you”, as Rachael pointed out to Bruce Wayne in the epic Batman Begins. Use the time and energy you spend talking and speaking about your ideas actually bringing them to life. Put them into action.

Instead of trying to appear useful and impressive through our words, use that energy to be useful. Accept that “you’re the least important person in the room — until you change that with results.”

We spend so much time debating or talking about whether we would be able to do something. Instead of talking so much about it, try it. Make mistakes.

The ultimate point: Stop talking and start doing.

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” — Thomas Edison

2. Gain knowledge and become more intelligent

In remaining silent, you don’t struggle or overthink over what to say. Thus, you receive more information and take it in.

Absorb your surroundings. You can learn from everybody you meet. Every person knows something you don’t. Remember that and listen.

In remaining quiet, we see how little we know. We can become more humble.

However, saying less does not alone lead to listening more and therefore learning more. It is only the first step. We must also learn to quiet the chatter of our minds.

The person who listens, receives.

3. Form better relationships

We spend 70% of our lives communicating. Hence, the ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills to learn. That means knowing when to stop talking and start listening.

In piping down, we can become better listeners. We can pick up cues that we otherwise would have missed whilst desperately searching for something to say. As a result, you find yourself immersed in conversations. Why? Because you invest your time actually listening to the other person and as a result you naturally become interested.

Remaining quiet means you hear their side of the story. It also means you avoid overcommunication and ramming your messa

4. Gain power.

“Let your silence ignite their whispers”

Around 454BC, the public knew little of the great Roman fighter Coriolanus but his military victories and success. He was a man of legend. Coriolanus returned to Rome respected and celebrated. This did not last for long. He was expected to become Caesar, but the more he spoke, the more he revealed his arrogance. The realisation struck: he was just like a common soldier. His respect faded and he was banished for life.

The more you say, the more you reveal your ordinariness

How often in life do we urge to fill the silences? We cringe when trying to analyse and figure out what others think of us. We speak without thinking. Silence makes people uncomfortable and so they fill the gap, revealing more about their character in the process. A man should be able to control himself, control his words. You must be careful what you say. Words can cut deep.

Saying less than necessary puts you in a position of power — others will desperately try to figure out what you are thinking. This is not always beneficial: making people uncomfortable may harm your best interests. Indeed, talking about ‘yourself’ may make them believe that you are revealing facts about yourself and make them feel more comfortable. This, however, can also be used as another method to mask your intentions: using mindless chatter, and occasionally minuscule or unimportant secrets dropped in to gain trust, as a distraction from what you are really doing. We are a social species so the ability to select and reveal what we choose to is key to gaining power. After all, you only release what you want them to know. See Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power: Law 4 — Always Say Less Than Necessary, for more.

Remaining quiet means you save precious time and energy.

Hit when it counts.

Reserve your energy for when it matters.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee — Muhammad Ali

5. Achieve clarity.

In speaking only when we have something to say, we don’t bring to life useless thoughts.

In a world of overstimulation, achieving clarity is vital. Remaining silent allows us the ability to focus, to see through the fog at only what is necessary.

Remaining silent allows us to consider the options in front of us.

The person who remains quiet can address their cognitive biases. The Dunning-Kruger effect means that we fail to recognise our own incompetence and overestimate what knowledge we do have.

Imagine this:

Commanding and striking

Always on your toes

Open and receptive

Watching intently

The man of few words