Stop. Think. Consider. THEN speak.

A wise man once said: “Words are no substitute for wisdom just as speaking is no guarantee of smarts.”

Hear, hear.

Y’see working in a bustling city like London, you find yourself surrounded by ‘big personalities’

Note; this is the HR-equivalent of saying ‘loud mouths’ or ‘big egos’.

On occasion (10% of the time), keeping this kind of company can be a good thing.

Being surrounded by the loudest people at the party can actually help bring (force) quieter people out of themselves and unlock in them confidence (and subsequently, ability) they hadn’t before realised.

But for the remaining 90% of the time, this type of environment acts as a drain on the people within the blast radius; marginalising and excluding the (potentially brilliant) shy and unsure.

Excluded by people filling silence with words.

Long words

Buzzwords.

Pointless words.

All “I think…”s and “I agree…”s and “I did that…”s.

“I think we should buzzword to buzzword the trend and then that will give us buzzword.”

These people talk to be heard, not because they’ve got something to say.

They spit words with such casual abandon as to regard them as cherry pips or less; useless shells bereft of value, purpose or meaning.

They’re so intent on being heard that they forget to think about what people will hear when they speak.

They don’t realise that sometimes silence can be the most wonderful thing and the best demonstration of intelligence.

Why?

Because.

Because silence shows thought and consideration.

And if someone’s considered and thought about something properly – I mean really mulled it over to consider it’s value and relevance – then who are we but to listen?

Look at the famed American journalist, Ed Murrow.

A man of wit, intelligence and understanding. A man who, I doubt, ever wasted a single word; written or spoken.

A man who famously said; “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.”

Now, let’s be clear; I’m not asking for the world. No, sir. I’m just after an understanding, an appreciation, that simply filling silences doesn’t mean you’re actually contributing.

An understanding that considering thoughts before spurting them out can open a window and invite others to share theirs; and that an extra 30 seconds worth of thought might actually make your contribution worth contributing.

And wouldn’t that be something.

So let me draw to a close and give you time to consider this for yourself.

And what better place to finish than at the beginning; “Words are no substitute for wisdom just as speaking is no guarantee of smarts.”

And which wise man was it who said that?

The man who’s now putting a sock in it.