Q vs. Q

Quality versus Quantity.  I’ve heard that little phrase for as long as I can remember.  I think of it often when I think about talking and listening.  The quantity of words used does not necessarily make someone a good communicator.  Listen to any politician talk and in most cases, all you hear is babble and non-committal rhetoric about nothing.  It’s like one long run on sentence.  I especially get a kick out of people that believe they need to inject a set of words into every single conversation; however, when you ask them what they just said, they tell you.  Here is a good example of Q vs.Q.

Quantity - Rod, I have deep feelings for you that I would like to express, but I am not sure which words to start with…but know they are really really deep and honest feelings.

Quality – Rod, I love you.

In the quantity example, there are 33 words and in the quality example, there are four.  They both say the same thing.  Which example is more powerful, meaningful, and to the point?

Learn to think before you speak.  Just because we have an unlimited amount of words, that doesn’t mean we have to try to use them all at once.  I’ll take four quality words over 33 quantity words all the time.  Q vs. Q…remember it, know it, use it.