Do you feel tired when you’re at work and someone is telling you what seems to be never ending story? Many people in business, and in life, go into unnecessary detail. All. The Time!
They don’t realise that for some people, it’s just too painful to listen all the unnecessary information. Having said that, for some people they simply won’t understand the final decision or point without a detailed description. So how do you know what you should do?!
The answer is simple.
Use one of these two strategies:
1. K.I.S.S. – Keep it Simple and Short (or Keep it Simple, Stupid!)
The idea is to keep things simple. Conversations, descriptions or whatever it is you’re trying to communicate. This simple attitude will help people understand quickly. Whilst some people think that when using simplicity, quality is lost, they forget something: your communication needs to be easily understood in order to create results. Rather than a longer message bringing you better quality, often it does just the opposite – it wastes both your time and theirs.
Respect yourself and them by keeping it simple.
2. K.I.L.L. – Keep it Long and Lengthy
The other option is to keep it long and lengthy. This is useful in situations where your colleagues are highly detailed oriented as you can save them time and questions. Sometimes your situation will require a bigger overview where it is necessary to go into more detail. However, you still need to make sure you are not over-describing and getting bogged down in detail. You don’t want to end up boring them – then they stop listening and hear nothing! It’s common place that people who do this jump from topic to topic which causes confusion and ultimately makes them feel lost in the conversation.
So which is better?
Well, if you ask me, K.I.S.S. Definitely. I like to give and receive short and clear messages. Details make me tired – especially unnecessary ones! However, I have also found myself in situations where my message was too simple and I needed more detail. Ultimately, it’s down to your judgement which is more useful. If you use the right one, both your business and personal relationships will dramatically improve. By meeting the needs of the person in front of you, you create win-win situation. So find out what it is they need and what the conversation requires as soon as possible and apply accordingly. Do this, and you can’t go wrong!