How to Stop Over Explaining
In this concise coaching video, speaker Shanli Liu, CPA, CTP, outlines three actionable strategies to curb the habit of over‑explaining. First, she explains the "Less is more" principle: providing excessive detail can undermine credibility because the longer the explanation, the farther it appears from the truth. Second, she advises against pre‑emptively answering imagined questions; instead, wait for the listener to ask, adopting a "well" rather than a "waterfall" approach to information flow. Third, she offers a quick self‑check: whenever you use the word "because," ask whether the listener requested that detail or you are adding it out of habit. If it’s the latter, the explanation can likely be trimmed. The video’s purpose is to help viewers communicate more clearly and efficiently by reducing unnecessary elaboration.
