A local politician was inaugurating a public welfare scheme. He told reporters, “This scheme is special because it is for the people”. Since when is a public welfare scheme meant for anyone but the people.

Politicians have air time to fill and elections to win. So, they must talk, talk and talk, and every so often they are going to say such things. The rest of us however, don’t have an excuse.

We all know one colleague who speaks a lot, but says nothing. We are surrounded by talkers. They are on social media, on expert panels and in office meetings. They hog time in calls, interrupt others and always make their presence felt.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. When it works it makes others wonder – Is this what good communication looks like, talking non-stop even when you don’t have anything useful to say.

Suddenly, everybody is trying to talk their way to the top. New managers, who should be listening and learning, get pressured into speaking up in every meeting. They start shooting random ideas at the speed of a machine gun.

Good communication is not a machine gun, spraying one thousand rounds per minute. It is a sniper rifle – precise and measured. The best communicators choose their words carefully. They weigh every word before speaking. They tailor what they say based on who is listening.

You don’t need to talk non-stop to be a good communicator. Communication is about conveying your thoughts in clear, simple and correct words. Not more, not less, but correct words.

It is okay to keep quiet if you don’t have an opinion on a topic. It is okay to not have a ready answer to every question. In fact, the questions that really matter never have a quick answer.

Mark Twain said it best, “If you have nothing to say, say nothing.” I am going to take a cue from him and end this blog because I have nothing more to say.