Say less, hold more ground.

In conversations, especially high-stakes ones, there’s a common impulse:

To overexplain.

To soften our stance.

To fill every pause so no one questions our position.

But here’s the truth:

Power doesn’t live in how much you say...

It lives in how well you hold your ground.

When you feel the need to justify, you shrink.

When you rush to clarify, you lose clarity.

And when you fill space out of fear, you forfeit control.

The most respected people don’t say much.

They mean what they say.

And then they stop talking.

They don’t explain twice.

They don’t dilute their boundaries with apologies.

They trust their position…because it’s been chosen deliberately.

That’s the energy of someone who commands the conversation,

without needing to dominate it.

It’s in the tone.

The posture.

The stillness between words.

And most importantly, the confidence to let silence carry what your voice doesn’t have to.

So here’s your challenge this week:

In your next difficult conversation, say less.

No justifying. No excessive explanation. No shrinking to be agreeable.

Let your tone stay level.

Let your eye contact remain steady.

Say what needs to be said…clearly, directly, respectfully.

Then stop.

And let your silence be the punctuation mark.

Because when you hold your ground without flinching,

you don’t need to prove anything.

You are the proof.

To your greatness,

-James Michael Sama

P.S.: If you’re looking for a private advisor to help you develop these qualities, let’s talk.