# Why am I talking?

**Published by:** [Mickey Mellen](https://paragraph.com/@mickey-mellen/)
**Published on:** 2024-05-21
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@mickey-mellen/why-am-i-talking

## Content

Why am I talking? One of the best things I’ve done over the past few years (though it’s still a work in progress) is to be more quiet during meetings. If I want to open my mouth, I always try to have the thought of “why am I talking?” before I start. A while back, Pete and Jen talked about this in an episode of their podcast with this statement as the acronym W.A.I.T. (“Why Am I Talking?”). It was a great episode and I encourage you to give it a listen. More recently, this came to mind while reading Charles Duhigg’s book “Supercommunicators“, where he said: “The most effective communicators pause before they speak and ask themselves: Why am I opening my mouth? Unless we know what kind of discussion we’re hoping for—and what type of discussion our companions want—we’re at a disadvantage.” Being careful with your words is an excellent thing, but it also gives space for others to share their thoughts instead. The trap that I can fall into, though, is to be too focused on whether I should speak up or not and then I’m not as focused as I should be on the person who is currently speaking. It’s a fine line, and it’s one that I’m continuing to dance upon, but hopefully I’ll continue to get a little better every day.

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