Why do people disregard being brief as important?
I was at an event last night where a dear friend of mine, a campaign manager for a local candidate, was introducing her client. I don’t think she meant to talk that long, but the introduction stretched to almost five minutes. She kept running sentences together explaining what the candidate stood for to the point where we didn’t even need to hear from the person running for office.
I said to myself, people don’t have a cadence calculator in their head telling them, you’re talking too long. And I asked myself, why is she doing this?
We have to teach people when enough is enough.
Some of it may be self-importance. But I honestly think most people have no idea how much time they’re taking up when they speak. That introduction should have been 30 to 35 seconds. No more.
You should always be mindful of people’s time — in every circumstance.
I’ve trained myself to speak in soundbites. When you’re truly passionate about what you’re saying, you’ll know it. It flows out of you. You’re not searching for words. You’re not pausing to stack filler on top of filler. Thoughts come down like a mountain stream — point after point — until you’re done.
That’s when you know you’re making impact statements.
Impact statements come when you speak from the heart and stop worrying about how your words will be received.
Try to be brief. Try to be concise.
Filler words drive me crazy.
“You know… like… um… what I’m trying to say is…”
Those filler words are usually followed by word salad — generic, empty, and lifeless. And it leaves you with the conclusion that this person just likes to hear themselves talk. Then they keep adding sentences, like cabooses on a train.
You ever sit at a railroad crossing watching car after car go by, wondering, when is this going to end? You see people making U-turns, trying to escape.
That’s what listeners are doing when we bore them instead of getting to the point.
I wrote about this before in The First Exit Rule (https://insideurbanmedia.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-first-exit-rule-why-great-radio.html ).
People enjoy being around you more when you learn to be brief and specific.
This is something you have to be conscious of every time you speak.
Here’s the filler-word list that needs to be eliminated:
Um
Uh
Er
Ah
Mm
Like
You know
I mean
So
Well
Basically
Actually
Literally (often misused)
Right?
Okay
Alright
Yeah
Sort of / Kind of
You know what I’m saying
At the end of the day
To be honest
In terms of
At this point
For the most part
Stuff like that
Things like that
I think
I feel like
In my opinion
It’s almost like
What it really comes down to
If that makes sense
These words need to be eliminated from your vocabulary.
Before you use a filler word, take a silent pause instead. Silence shows confidence. Filler words show uncertainty.
This is why reading and writing matter. They sharpen your thinking and force you to respect language. Take pride in how you communicate — no matter who you’re talking to.
Our job is to be as clear as possible when we speak to other human beings.
If this hit you, you’re not alone.
I write for people who are done performing and done asking permission to be great on the air.
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