“For to speak well is not the same as to speak much.”Plutarh · Moralia · 100 · Despre a vorbi mult, 1
Speak little, but say something that lasts: a speech's worth lies in the ideas that survive the silence, not in the minutes spent.
Plutarch targets the habit of confusing effort with value. Someone who talks a great deal can look competent at first glance, simply because he fills space and time. Yet persuasion works the other way: listeners retain a few clear ideas, not a mass of words. A politician who sums up the problem in two precise sentences convinces more than one who dodges it for an hour. Abundance often hides the absence of a finished thought.
Brevity is not laziness; it is work. For speech to be short and good, the thought must be finished before you open your mouth. Whoever speaks at length is often still searching for the idea, and words fill the gap in thinking. That is why real preparation means cutting, not adding: you choose what stays and let the rest go. Think of a doctor who explains a diagnosis in three clear sentences, versus one who drowns you in detail and leaves you more confused than before. Next step: how to spot, in other people's speech, the moment when abundance covers an emptiness.
Why it matters Useful in meetings, teaching, and any negotiation: before speaking, ask what you want to remain after you stop.