Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

Chapter 16

It's Never Really Small Talk

Simplicity is the glory of expression.

—Walt Whitman

Long story, short. Convey meaningful messages in informal, fluid settings by using as few words as possible.

Brevity as a Conversational Life Raft

The adage “Loose lips sink ships” says it all. In a time of war, seemingly harmless banter that could expose secrets to the enemy is never welcome. And the same is true in your job.

Organizations are filled with small talk and chatter before meetings, in the hallway, arriving to work, getting ready to go home, or running out to lunch. And although they seem innocuous enough, these little conversations throughout the day can speak volumes—and sink careers.

You must manage your reputation closely, and how you make small talk is one component of this. As they say in media training, “It's all on the record.”

For example, I remember waiting in the reception area of Harley Davidson's corporate headquarters to visit my client early on a Monday morning. I saw a young man waiting to get signed in. He looked like a new employee on his first day on the job.

After a short time, one of the chefs walked down the hall from the cafeteria. He went up to the front desk and signed the young man in, saying, “I don't know what date it is. I'm still stuck in Sunday.”

The new employee casually responded, “Yeah, I had one of those weekends, too.”

I wondered, “What is his new boss thinking about him and the kind of weekend he had?” That harmless comment could imply a ...