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A 5-Step Guide to Spitting Straight Facts
How to make people listen to what you have to say.
All my life, I’ve always been a quiet kid.
I only open my mouth when I need to, not when I want to. This trait has earned me somewhat of a good reputation. My friends and coworkers know me as “the guy who never speaks, but when he does, spits straight facts.”
Over time, that label started to grow on me, and I took pride in it. It’s a tremendous privilege to have others trust and value your words — one that I’ll never take for granted. People keep coming to me for advice on their life, work, and relationships (even those older than me). Not because I’m wiser, but because they know I’ll always give them an honest, no-BS answer.
If you feel like people don’t listen to you, here’s my guide on how to fix that. I’m not saying this is a be-all-end-all method that’s guaranteed to work for everybody, but this is something I practice myself, and it works for me.
Ready? Alright. Here’s how to spit straight fax. No printer.
1. Have a point
This one’s gotta come first. It seems obvious, but… it’s really not.
Most people are easy to ignore simply because they don’t have a point. It’s baffling how common this fallacy is.
You know, a lot of people talk just for the sake of talking. They shout on the streets, spam posts on social media, write 2000-word articles, ramble on and on, but it’s all nonsense.
I’m sure you know at least one person like this in your life. They waste your time with meaningless chatter, and you can’t tell them to “get to the point,” because they have none.
If you haven’t done this first step, you might as well stop reading right now, because the other 4 steps will be useless without it.
When you’re speaking, make sure you know what you're saying. Have a point. That alone will set you apart from most people you meet.
2. Straighten your intent
You could say the truest sentence in the world, but if your intentions are impure, people won’t listen to you.