“Clear as Mud”, is an expression that indicates you have made things less clear while intending to clarify. You will meet people who will keep holding the microphone – that is everyone’s attention – while trying to clarify or trying to get to the point. Most, in the audience, may listen out of politeness, but the speaker is not getting any closer to clarifying or yielding the microphone.
If you fall into this trap too often people will start to take counter measures, they will either ignore or cut you off. If this has happened to you, or if you use lots of filler words, go on tangents, bring irrelevant facts or details, or take a long time to make a point or the question – you may be making things as “clear as mud,” trap.
Different than filibustering, or elaborating, this is not done intentionally but a failure to get to the point, the question, or the recommendation by the most succinct way. You tend confuse the issue with too many facts, or trying to be too complete, too accurate, too precise, too polite, or too deferential.
In college my best friend read my paper and gave me the best advice – “just say it.” By that he meant, to say it in the most straight forward way, with the fewest number of words. It is possible to say too few words and not have the presence to say what needs to be said – but that’s a different problem.
Some of techniques include writing down the question or point you are trying to make, maybe even ahead of the meeting. Winston Churchill spent a lot of time writing and preparing his content before he was able to give impressive speeches. Another technique is to understand your intention, and what you are trying to accomplish, and find – ahead of time – the shortest way to say that.
If you catch yourself confusing the issue rather than clarifying you can: Fall back to Intent, you can say “let me rephrase,” or “let me summarize.”
Related skills:
- Similar skills: Confusing the Issue with Facts
- Supporting skills: Fall back to Intent
- Opposite skills: Filibuster with Intent, Elaborate the Obvious
