How Speaking Less Can Quietly Increase Influence at Work
Workplace influence is not always about talking more. Research shows that speaking less can make your words stand out. This strategy helps cut through information overload. When you speak less, your contributions are seen as more thoughtful and cr...
Visibility is often equated with contribution in the workplace, and those who contribute more to the conversation are very often seen as more engaged or more informed. But there are circumstances in which influence is built not by the number of contributions made, but by the selectiveness of the contributions. Research into organizational behavior provides an answer. Employees who contribute selectively are more likely to be seen as thoughtful and credible, as shown by a study in the journal Psychological Science (Burris, 2012). Contributions made less frequently are seen as more influential, and others start to see the absence of contributions as thoughtful.
The cognitive factors of these are massive, as seen in research on information overload by Eppler & Mengis, published in The Information Society (2004). It found that overcommunication can undermine clarity, and it is the fewer, more precise statements that stand out in environments where everyone is competing. Talking less is, therefore, a form of filtering out noise. It will feel like they are not being seen or heard by the employee. It is only after a while that the process becomes apparent. It is noticed with greater clarity when they finally say something. This is not an overt change, but it is significant nonetheless, and their input is now being received differently. It is now their timing that is becoming influential instead of their level of input. There is also the factor of social perception. Perceived confidence is often associated with composure, as noted in research by the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Those who pause before talking are often perceived to be more composed, which is where authority can emerge.
Image Credit: Gemini
The result is not about silence, but rather it is about the structure of communication. Talking less is not about not engaging; it is about engaging at certain moments. This is different from engaging at other moments. Talking less can function as a signal in environments where people have limited time. This process subverts an assumption about the workplace. Influence is not always about just engaging; it is about creating contrast in most environments, where talking less makes each word stand out.
