My editor recently read a chapter of the new book I’m working on and offered some unexpected and pointed feedback: I was over-explaining. Too many examples. Too much justification and too much convincing.
It caught me off guard and made me reflect. My intentions were good – I wanted every reader to follow along, to fully understand, to buy in and feel supported by the material. But in trying to leave nothing to chance, I was leaving no room for the reader. The core message was getting lost in the well-intentioned but excessive effort to deliver it.
And somewhere in that moment, I thought leaders do this every day, too.
There’s a phrase making the rounds — particularly among younger generations — that captures this perfectly. It’s “say less.” Used as a response when someone makes a point so well that adding anything would only dilute it, “say less” is cultural shorthand for: “I got it. You don’t need to convince me further.” It’s a mic drop disguised as two words.
Leaders could learn a lot from it.
Over-explanation is rarely born of arrogance. More frequently, it comes from care. Leaders who over-explain are trying to be helpful, trying to ensure understanding, trying to do right by the people they lead. The intention is generous. Unfortunately, the effect is the opposite.
A perfect example of this is a leader I worked with recently who was committed to giving great feedback. He’d learned that specificity mattered, so he came prepared. Observation after observation, each one carefully constructed, each one detailed and grounded. By the time his employee could finally get a word in, she felt overwhelmed. Not developed. Not supported. Overwhelmed. The leader accomplished the opposite of his goal — and left his employee less engaged than when the conversation began.
Too frequently – with the best of intentions – leaders overwhelm others with more than is necessary. And it carries a heavy cost in terms of attention. In today’s workplace — fragmented, distracted and overloaded — attention is a precious (and waning) resource. Leaders have a finite number of opportunities to be heard. Over-explain enough times, and people learn to wait for the version that actually matters. You’ve trained them to tune out.
But there’s another equally damaging cost: your credibility. When leaders over-explain, they inadvertently signal that they don’t quite trust their own authority — or their audience’s ability to receive it. The extra words don’t add weight. They actually subtract it.
The antidote isn’t withholding. It’s not being curt or leaving people without the context they need. It’s trusting yourself enough to make the point — and then stopping. And it’s respecting your audience enough to let the message land.
Want to trade more for less when it comes to your communication. Try these three strategies.
Get clear on your goal before you open your mouth — or hit send. Too often, leaders start talking or writing and hope that the act of communicating will create clarity. It won’t. Others don’t need a front-row seat to your thinking process — they need the conclusion it produces. When you know precisely what you’re trying to achieve, you naturally edit. Clarity creates economy.
Pay attention to the signals. Eyes glazing over in a meeting. Emails that don’t get responses. These aren’t just distractions or oversights — they’re feedback. People are telling you something. Listen and calibrate accordingly.
Trust the gaps. The silence after you make a point isn’t a problem to fill. It’s where sense is made, and understanding happens. Stay present and available, but resist the urge to rush in with more words when what people need is more processing space.
Whether in writing, in conversation or in leadership, the best communicators instinctively know that what you leave out is as powerful as what you put in. Trust your audience. Make your point. Then stop because the most effective thing you can do for your communication isn’t to do more. It’s to say less.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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