LAWS OF POWER:4 OF 48

FOUR:ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY

When you are trying to impress people with words,the more you say,the more common you appear,and the less in control.Even if you are saying something banal,it will seem original if you make it vague,open-minded,and sphinxlike.Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less.The more you say,the more likely you are to say something foolish.

Power is in many ways a game of appearances,and when you say less than necessary,you inevitably appear greater and more powerful than you are.Your silence will make other people uncomfortable.Humans are machines of interpretation and explanation;they have to know what you are thinking.When you carefully control what you reveal,they cannot pierce your intentions or your meaning.

Your short answers and silences will put them on the defensive,and they will jump in,nervously filling the silence with all kinds of comments that will reveal valuable information about them and their weaknesses.They will leave a meeting with you feeling as if they had been robbed,and they will go home and ponder your every word.This extra attention to your brief comments will only add to your power.

Once the words are out,you cannot take them back.Keep them in control.Be particularly careful with sarcasm:The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay.


The reversal to/of this law is that there are times when it is unwise to be silent.Silence can arouse suspicion and even insecurity,especially in your superiors;a vague or ambiguous comment can open you up to interpretations you had not bargained for.Silence and saying less than necessary must be practiced with caution,then,and in the right situations.It is occassionally wiser to imitate the court jester,who plays the fool but know he is smarter than the king.He talks and talks and entertains,and no one suspects that he is more than just a fool.

Also,words can sometimes act as a kind of smoke screen for any deception you might practice.By bending your listener's ear with talk,you can distract and mesmerize them;the more you talk,in fact,the less suspicious of you they become.The verbose are not perceived as sly and manipulative but as helpless and unsophisticated.This is the reverse of the silent policy employed by the powerful:by talking more,and making yourself appear weaker and less intelligent than your mark,you can practice deception with greater ease.

Whichever way,you have to learn to know when to say more and when to say less.Learn how to play your cards right.