Years ago, I reached out to a much larger account than mine to share/enquire about an idea. I rambled a bit in my explanation (*gasp!* I know). He came back with roughly:

"Dude, you gotta figure out how to get to the point faster. I don't have time for this."

Now, while i had rambled, it wasn't THAT bad. But i remember really wanting to get defensive and feeling a bit gutted by the response. I had a lot of respect for them.

However, I did stop and think about his perspective. Probably getting an avalanche of DMs, has no idea who i am, busy with 100 other things.

I felt stupid and *wanted* to be angry at him, but i also could see it.

That has stuck with me to this day, and every time I'm writing something, I stop and think "how many of these sentences are really necessary?"

While i still tend to over explain, I've actually been way more conscious about it (and also less insecure when i do ramble 😆). I actually think about the interaction fondly now. It was actually really helpful.

Lesson:

Be frank with people. Staying comfortable and unchallenged only makes you stagnant.

(i deeply feel the irony of a long post about explaining too much, lol... i cut like 3 paragraphs out of this)