More is sometimes better

Overcommunication has its place. Hear me out. Last week I talked all about the power of using a just few words but using them well. There is a balance to things, though.

Think about these scenarios.

Parking for an event at an unfamiliar location.

The menu description of an expensive item. (The higher the price, the fewer the words!)

A funeral program detailing the life of the deceased.

While less is often more, sometimes communicating more is truly better. Like most things in life, nuance is required.

Here is a bad example. As noted by this tag, this plant is a “clean-air plant.” Personally, I have yet to find a “dirty-air plant,” or one that “try as it might, just couldn’t do the photosynthesis thing.” Obvious=unnecessary.

A better example: gluten-free lollipops. Yes, most lollipops are likely gluten free, but in an age where allergies abound, I believe that overcommunicating about allergens is a helpful move. Obvious=kind.

Overcommunication is most helpful when situations are 1) vague or 2) full of assumed expectations.

1.  Vague: the job search. I recently applied for a position that is hosted on a job board that has chosen, as a (kind!) business practice, to send weekly updates on application statuses. I appreciate their communication that “there is still no news,” because the traditional job search can feel like a black hole of lost dreams and assumed failure. Their emails leave room for hope.

2.  Assumed expectations: this applies to so! many situations in life, but a wedding invitation is the perfect example. The average wedding invitation has 90 words. These 90 words hold the weight of communicating the date, time, location parking directions, gift information, the couple’s names and sometimes their parents’. Though a wedding website expounds on details that the brevity of the card might have missed, there are many wedding expectations that are assumed yet unarticulated.

Another example: during an internship I did last year, I worked with a lot of international students and learned that there are many unarticulated expectations about time, food, and shoes-in-the-house rules, to name a few. As such, a mentor encouraged me to attempt overcommunicating as much as possible, as to avoid confusion.

I’m serving dinner tonight at my house: vegetarian curry and rice. The food will be ready at six, and I’d love to invite you and your roommate over. I am inviting one other person, too, my other friend, Mila. If you want to bring something like a snack or dessert, I would love to try one of your favorite recipes!

Use your words well this week: to write, speak, and communicate with a lot of context and a load of kindness.

Until next week,

Emily M

P.S. I’m writing a cookbook! The vision of the book is to be a guide to gather well….a simpleish, healthyish collection of recipes that facilitate hospitality. If you want to join me (and 40+ others) and test 1-2 recipes/month,  sign up here! The first recipe goes out next week! 😊

P.P.S. If you want another fun project for the summer, I highly recommend joining this summer reading club. It’s flexible, it’s fun, and as you log hours each week, the organizer donates to a nonprofit. What a great cause! Join me in reading about gardens, natural disasters, professional development, poetry….and so much more. Here’s the tracker and here’s some more information about the challenge!