Nothing to say? Sometimes, silence speaks louder than words.

Many of today’s leaders, especially if they haven’t mastered the technique known as MBWA (Management by Walking Around) like to keep firing off emails just to remind everyone they’re still there. (Or, as they would say, “To keep everyone on their toes.”)
Some sales and marketing executives suffer from this syndrome too. When they haven’t heard from a major client for a while, they resort to the rather old-fashioned ‘anything-we-can-do-for-today’ phone calls, emails and text messages.

Do they really imagine clients need reminding to place important orders or to ask for advice? Or are they worried that they’ve been sidelined by a competitor or that their clients will feel unappreciated if they’re not bombarded with offers to be of service?

Now think for a few seconds. If you’re an employee and you see a message from your boss in your inbox, what’s your first thought? “I’d better drop what I’m doing and see what’s needed, it might be important.”

So you open the boss’ mail only to find it’s either of no relevance or could’ve waited a day or two. It takes several minutes at least for you to recover from the interruption and to get back to what you were doing. Next time, you might not be quite so keen to find out what’s on the boss’s mind.

It’s similar if you’re a client. Imagine a key supplier has sent you a mail. You wonder if there’s a problem with your last order, whether your account up to date, or if they’re just letting you know about a special offer. Your worst fear of all: maybe they alerting you to a missed deadline that’s about to plunge your life into chaos.

In both cases, it’s not just the time that’s wasted. The recipient’s concentration has been broken and the frustration levels have just been cranked up another notch. The most common gripe of this interconnected age is the feeling of being ‘always on’ – never having a chance to think.

What you are about to say is really so important?

Before you write an email, send a media release or a staff announcement, ask yourself: is what I’m about to say really so important? To everyone? If so, is there a better way to let them know?

We’re all under assault from scrappy, attention seeking messages that have nothing interesting or useful to offer.

One recently arrived in our inbox announcing that a company we’ve never heard of has launched a new website. Really? Who thought that was such a newsworthy event it was suitable for the widest possible coverage?

Before you add your voice to the deluge of conversations out there, ask yourself if what you have to say will add value, purpose or clarity to anyone’s life. Are you telling them something that’s helpful, insightful or that they almost certainly haven’t picked up elsewhere?

If not, keep it to yourself.

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