20. Saying The Quiet part Out Loud

When we are trying to solve our problems it helps to say the quiet part out loud. Say what you assumed. Say what you think is inappropriate to say. Don’t leave out details because it is more convenient. We want to do whatever it takes to solve the issue at hand. Be so specific that there is almost nothing left to the imagination to work out. The picture is so clearly painted that a listener is there with you experiencing the same events and feelings. Here is an example:

“Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats.”
- Charles Dickens, Bleak House

There is a better question to ask when you are finished than, “Have I said everything?” Ask yourself whether you can say more tomorrow.