There was a guy in jury duty last week who was…talkative, to put it kindly.

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In the assembly area.

In the recess rooms.

Definitely in the courtroom during selection.

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The eternal conversationalist.

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Was he nervous?

Uncomfortable with silence?

Desperate to be seated on the case?

Maybe all three.

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Ultimately, he wasn’t selected.

Dismissed, I’d guess, for coming off too eager or overpowering.

Maybe even a loose cannon.

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It made me think of how we show up on those early calls with prospects.

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Are we eager to be heard? Or calm enough to listen?

Are we spewing scattered insights? Or offering something clear and organized?

Are we preaching? Or screening for fit and mutual value?

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A crude, but helpful gauge: what % of the airtime are you taking up?

Most digital note-takers will give you this number automatically.

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I don’t think there’s a perfect ratio, but…

• Under 20%? You probably haven’t asserted yourself enough.
• Over 40%? You’ve probably made the call about you.

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Feeling like you’re veering into the ‘over-talker’ side of the curve?

Try this:

• Do your homework — Come in with a few hypotheses about their “why now?”
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  It can shift your mindset from “here’s what I do” to “what’s going on over there?”
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• Give them the floor — Ask how they found you, what’s troubling them, what they’ve tried.
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  Once you get them talking, most will take the invitation to unload.
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• Pull out a visual — Rather than talking your way through an idea, show them.
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  A 2x2, a time series, a visual mental model. Something crisp.
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  Then simply ask: “when you see it laid out like this…what goes through your mind?”

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Sometimes their clarity only comes when you stop talking.

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💡

-Wes

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P.S. Ready to build those visuals together, one-on-one?

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