I spend a lot of time listening to people… when somebody is talking, its only polite to listen. Plus, its important to focus on what somebody is saying so you can properly digest it and respond accordingly. But… why can’t people just get to the point?

I’d say that in probably 90% of the conversations I have, people just ramble… they try to impress me with their knowledge of the buzzwords of the day, dropping some names of people that they (allegedly) associate with, and often repeat what they say, but using different words.

When I speak, I try to get to the point… because my time is important to me, and so is your time, at least to me. It’s not that I think my time is worth more than yours, but its more a matter of trying to get all the things I want to get done in a day, and respecting that you might have a lot of things to do too.

When I talk to my clients (or prospects), I make sure my message is clear and concise. I know they don’t have time, and I also know that they appreciate when my message is to the point. What they really want to hear, concisely of course, is ‘what’s my point’… why am I telling them what I’m telling them.

I often talk about ‘telling it like it is’ and part of that means to be concise. If something sucks, then say it sucks (maybe use the appropriate word). If the person wants to know why, or asks for more details, then offer them up. It seems like everybody wants to give me the whole story and make me guess that what they’re really saying is that it sucks.

So the next time somebody asks you a question or you’re telling somebody something, get to the point as quickly as possible.