Sandra Tooze writes in her 2020 biography of The Band drummer Levon Helm that, "the most important factor in his approach to music was not what he played, but what he left out." What do you leave out?
The best leaders and communicators know how to edit. They take the extra time needed to craft a tight, appropriately brief speech or memorandum because they know doing so will improve the odds that people will actually hear it or read it. They understand that attention spans are constantly shrinking and people often tune out long-winded missives. That goes for unproductive meetings that run too long, as well.
Give your message the space it needs - it deserves - to breath. Understand that the "less is more" wisdom is true in some circumstances. Bloviators in leadership positions fail to recognize that it's not about them; it's about making it as viable as possible for their audiences to hear, understand, internalize, and act on their message.
Levon Helm knew he was a gifted drummer, mandolinist, and singer, but he never acted that way. He was confident enough to be authentically humble about his extraordinary gifts. It's insecurity that too often finds us beating our drum too long and hard until, ironically, it falls on deaf ears.
Image courtesy of Amazon.com.