Why Great Leaders Don't Ramble

There's nothing more irritating than listening to another person rambling on.

Another person's waffling can turn even the most interesting subjects or accurate answers into nothing more than an annoying mish-mash of noise.

In ten years as a recruiter working with over 13,000 people, I've even seen highly qualified people talk themselves into - and then out of - the jobs they've craved for their entire lives.

And in today's fast paced world where attention spans are lower than ever (and falling), it's never been more important to get your point across precisely and efficiently.

Ramblers don't get noticed.

Here are some reasons why great leaders don't ramble.

It wastes time

The one thing none of us can create more of is more time.

From high level CEO's to part-time interns, we all get 24 hours a day.

And with competition and the impact of new technology increasing day by day, it's never been more important to act as efficiently and time effectively as possible.

With time such a precious commodity, no-one wants to deal with a chatter box. We've all experienced situations where we have spent hours with another person - sometimes even an engaging and intelligent individual - but not feeling like we have achieved anything at the end of it. It feels like a bog waste of time. Usually, we start to develop a tendency to avoid these types of interactions.

Great leaders understand that cutting to the chase has never been more important. They try to achieve twice as much in half the time.

Great leaders economize their words.

It lacks focus

The problem with ramblers is that they tend to go round and round, back and forth, up and down.

Through their desire to own every conversation, they commonly lack structure, forget what they are supposed to be focusing on and even outright contradict themselves.

In a world with unlimited choice and more complexity, the need for decisiveness has never been greater. Great leaders understand that by keeping answers short and emphasizing key points they create a focus and decisiveness that is appealing to others.

It's easy for others to understand what these leaders firmly believe in.

Great leaders keep conversations short to emphasize their beliefs.

It increases stress

Ever talked yourself into such a frenzy that even you yourself became stressed out?

A colleague of mine recently was preparing a big pitch for a large fashion house that was looking to hire ten new executives in the next 6 months. She prepared for several weeks; researching the client and market into considerable detail and going in-depth into the value we could offer in the search process.

When the big day came, she became so overwhelmed with the volume she had to deliver, that the 15 minute pitch lasted over an hour. The client was overloaded with information. They had extensive levels of questions. At some points the client (and even her) became outright confused.

Our language is a reflection of our thought process. The clearer and more concise our words, the more accurate and easy to process our thinking becomes. 

Great leaders use concise language to reduce stress.

Conclusion

Ironically, rambling is a sure fire way to eventually get ignored.

In some cases, even avoided.

Hiring managers can gain much from those people who know how to communicate effectively without going too far and become annoying.

Do you know a someone who rambles on, and on, and on...?

If you are a hiring manager and want to hire outstanding people, please reach out here