BEAST MODE MONDAY: YOU DON’T HAVE TO PROVE HOW SMART YOU ARE
Updated: 1 day ago
Morning, Beasts.
If we haven't met yet, I'm Richard. I'm the guy with grease under his fingernails from rebuilding an outboard motor in the garage last weekend, and I'm one of the coaches here at SalesBEAST. Most Mondays it's me or my good friend Jayne in this spot, so grab a coffee and pull up a chair, my friend.
There's an old saying you've probably heard:
"Better to keep your mouth closed and let people wonder how dumb you are than to open it and remove all doubt."
Savage. Funny. And sometimes painfully accurate. But this isn't about calling anybody stupid. It's about something way more useful. It's about knowing when to shut the hell up.
The smartest person in the room isn't always the one talking
We've all met that guy. You mention something, he's done it. You went somewhere, he's been there. You had a problem, his was bigger. You caught a fish? His fish was a submarine.
I laugh, but here's the part that isn't funny. Some people are so busy proving how much they know that they never stick around long enough to learn anything new. The moment you believe you already know everything is usually the moment your growth stops.
A Beast doesn't need to dominate every conversation. A Beast observes. A Beast listens. A Beast asks questions. Then, when there's something worth saying, a Beast speaks with purpose. That's power.
Silence isn't weakness
A lot of folks confuse silence with uncertainty. They think if they aren't talking, they aren't contributing. If they aren't correcting somebody, the whole room might accidentally survive without knowing how brilliant they are. Relax, Einstein.
You don't have to attend every argument you're invited to. You don't need an opinion on every subject. And you sure don't need to pretend you understand something you don't.
There are three words successful people are perfectly comfortable saying: "I don't know." Followed by four even better ones: "But I'll find out." That isn't weakness. That's horsepower.
Listening makes you dangerous
Amateurs talk. Professionals ask. Amateurs pitch. Professionals diagnose. If you're doing ninety percent of the talking, congratulations, you may have just delivered the greatest presentation nobody wanted.
Everything you need to win is usually sitting inside the other person's head. Their problem. Their fear. Their goal. Their objection. Their deadline. Their reason for saying yes. You'll never hear any of it if you won't stop talking.
Out on the water, the guys who catch fish are the ones watching the birds, reading the current, noticing the bait. The guy yelling about his last trip scares everything off. Same deal in a meeting. Sometimes the most profitable thing you can say is "Tell me more." Then let the silence do some work.
Now, full disclosure, Jayne will tell you I can turn any conversation into a fishing story, and she's not wrong. One raised eyebrow from her across the table and I know I've wandered off. She's the best listener I've ever worked with, and honestly, half of what I know about shutting up and paying attention I learned watching her coach.
Your ego doesn't need a microphone
Sometimes we talk because we have something important to add. Other times we talk because our ego is terrified somebody might leave the room unimpressed. Huge difference.
Real confidence doesn't need constant validation. The strongest person in the room doesn't remind everybody they're strong. The best salesperson doesn't announce that they're the best. Results are pretty damn good publicists. Let your work, your consistency, and your character make so much noise that your mouth gets the afternoon off.
And here's the other side of it
Keeping quiet doesn't mean playing small. It doesn't mean letting people walk over you, and it absolutely doesn't mean sitting on a good idea because you're afraid of being judged. When something is wrong, speak. When leadership is needed, speak. When somebody without a voice needs one, speak. The lesson isn't silence. The lesson is discernment. Know the difference between adding value and adding noise.
Your plan for this week
Here's the map, step by step:
Before answering, listen all the way to the end of the other person's sentence.
Before correcting someone, ask yourself whether it actually matters.
In every important conversation, ask one more question than you normally would.
Then listen to the answer. No interrupting. No rehearsing your brilliant comeback.
When you genuinely don't know something, smile and say, "I don't know. Let's find out."
Walk out of every meeting with at least one thing you didn't know walking in.
Every person you meet knows something you don't. The prospect knows their business better than you do. The rookie might ask the question everyone else got too experienced to ask. The old timer might be carrying thirty years of lessons nobody bothered to hear. Knowledge doesn't always show up wearing a suit. Sometimes it walks in disguised as someone you underestimated.
So walk into this week confident. Speak when your words matter. Listen when someone else's words matter more. You don't become the smartest person in the room by doing all the talking. Sometimes you become the smartest person in the room by being the one who was paying attention.
Before you go
If this one landed, tap the heart so I know. Share it with the teammate who always has a bigger fish story than you, with love. And follow SalesBEAST so you never miss a Monday from me or Jayne.
When you're done listening this week, you're going to be hungry, so swing by Jayne's corner of the site for quick, real food that doesn't need a big production. Visit Jayne's Kitchen
Drop a comment and tell me: what's the best thing you ever learned just by keeping quiet and listening?
That's Beast Mode.
Richard
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