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“The talkative listen to no one, for they are ever speaking. And the first evil that attends those who know not how to be silent is that they hear nothing.”
- Plutarch
Aman of few words recently told me about the acronym WAIT, which stands for “why am I talking?”It was apparently conveyed to him in the context of business meetings, and the intent is to get people to think before they speak, and more specifically to consider whether what they are going to say has anything to add to the meeting. In a religious or moral context, you might have heard the advice to always consider whether what you are about to say is kind, true, and necessary. Many true statements are completely unnecessary; people don’t need to be reminded of their physical imperfections, nor usually of their moral ones. Most of us know full well wherein we lack. One of the serious drawbacks of being a chatterbox is that one never gets the opportunity to hear and learn from others. And even those of us who are occasionally silent long enough to let others get a word in edgewise fall prey to inattentive listening because we’re always thinking about what we will say next. Learn to measure your words carefully and consider whether what you’re going to say is worth listening to.
– Christopher Simon
