Always Say Less than Necessary

By; Admin

This is the law of power number 4, ‘always say less than necessary’. The more people talk the more they show their power or their weakness, and this could make others those unlike measure. Meanwhile if you say less, people will ask question or get interesting to know more from you about.

Here is relevance story of transgression of this Law.

Coriolanus was a great military hero of ancient Rome. People held him in awe, until he opened his mouth. He spoke his mind, hardly able to control his arrogance and boastfulness. He slandered and insulted people. The more speeches he made, the less people respected him. He suffered the people’s wrath and was eventually banished from the city.

Compare with this story of observance of this Law

Masters of enigma Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp knew the power of saying less and keeping people guessing. The less Duchamp talked about his work, the more it was talked about in the art circles. Andy Warhol recognized it was hard to talk people into doing what you wanted, so when interviewed, he would give vague and ambiguous answers and let the interviewer find his own interpretation.

Wisdom in a nutshell:

• Saying less will keep you from saying something foolish or even dangerous.
• Once the words are out you cannot take them back.
• Keeping silent makes people reveal more about themselves. This is information you may be able to use against them later on.

Read the list of 48 laws of power, here.

Read the law of power 1

Read the law of power 2

Read the law of power 3