If you know how to ask questions, you are most likely to know how best to answer questions. Knowing how to answer questions is as important as knowledge itself.
Communication is two way and listening has been proven to be an integral part of communication. Great leaders are listeners. They not only ask questions, they listen.
What is communication if not to pass your message to sell yourself, your idea or your product to the would-be buyer? Be that as it may, some things are better not said except you are asked.
It’s good to display your knowledge with convincing words but knowing where to stop is wisdom. You may have good knowledge but still blow away a good opportunity if you say more than is required. Sometimes, you are better off if you save the details.
If you are not sure of the interest of your audience, it is unsafe to reveal all that you know before you are asked because an unsolicited information may be your albatross. Reserve some words for later.
The story was told of a young job seeker who went for an oral interview in a corporate setting. Talking about her interest and hobby, she revealed that she’s a movie lover. That sounds good.
Every social animal should have a means of unwinding, watching movies is one of such means. In this case, the job seeker threw the panel of interviewers off balance when she further revealed that her best movie is Fifty Shades of Grey.
For those who know the storyline of Fifty Shades of Grey, very few will argue on the side of propriety for a young school leaver who wants to start a career to choose that particular movie as her best.
While I agree that she should be entitled to her preference as a human, flaunting it in a corporate setting to those who would decide her fate as a job seeker is erroneous, even if she’s being honest.
To be honest is a virtue but in some cases, keeping your honesty to yourself will do you no harm, particularly if not answering a question that is not asked will not make you dishonest.
Communication is more than knowing what to say and how to say it. What not to say is a type of communication, if saying it will add no value. Great leaders don’t say everything they know. Save the details.
©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr.
17 April 2023
