“Happy 'start' to your fall semester!” For many in our industry, hearing refreshed colleagues say these words makes us feel like the fall is anything but a “start.” I prefer to imagine our work more like taking intermittent water breaks during the calendar year marathon.
The fall semester brings with it a myriad of conversations during meetings, classroom lectures, and introductions to new faces. In today’s era, meeting someone new, let alone speaking to them, is “as they say” – “Cringe!”
Here is a tip for your toolbox, “say less.” But how? We are constantly called upon to answer questions from administrators, faculty, staff and students regarding our expertise.
How can one advocate for additional resources and strengthen institutional alliances without saying more? Extroverts feel the need to fill the silence and often provide immediate response. Introverts feel their internal advocate pushed and pulled to speak up, speak out, pitch in and provide the answers despite their personal discomfort.
But we sometimes forget that our best advocacy tool is the ability to listen, learn, and reflect. Yes – in fact, “say less.”
“Saying less” doesn’t mean saying nothing. It means choosing reservation in your communication. It means intentionally asking open-ended questions and actively listening to the responses. It means sitting with information, even when the speaker frustrates or disappoints you. This approach buys you time to reflect, strategize, and select your next steps and often yields stronger results.
You do not need to be the fastest person in this race, you simply need to improve your own pace. So welcome back to the marathon and whether you be in a lecture, in a meeting, or talking to yourself (we all do it)… “say less.”
(Amy Vaughan-Thomas)
