I had an interesting conversation about communication yesterday with one of my clients and it got me to thinking. Is there such a thing as too much information? Yes, there is.

When someone asks you a question, answer it. Don’t launch off on a tangent providing history that goes back 10 years to answer a simple question. I’ll tell you why I say this. Time is precious.

If you’re on a client call, for example, trying to provide them with a status update and they pose a question to you, answer it and move on. If you get too in depth, you’ve just opened the door to a whole bunch of problems.

1. The 2-minute status update call just turned into a 30-minute "I don’t understand what that is. Can you please tell me the all 20 steps you’re talking about" call.

2. There is information that your clients just don’t need to know. They hire you to be the expert so they don’t need to necessarily understand the entire reasoning for doing something or need to know every step you have to take to get them where they’re going. All they need to know is the end result.

3. It can quickly lead down the wrong path. I’ve sat on conference calls with clients and advertising agencies, where I would be writing copy for the project in question. The call was supposed to cover a specific topic such as the promotion plan for a new service launch. Someone on the call says too much and the call takes on a whole new direction. Now not only have you not covered the topic intended, but you’ve wasted time discussing something that isn’t relevant to the purpose of the call.

4. People digest information differently. Some people are more visual communicators than they are auditory. Hence, the reason why there are so many different communication channels. While I do talk to clients on the phone, I prefer email. As a writer, it’s much easier for me to learn what I need to know to write what I need to write. So do I need to talk to every client on the phone to complete my projects? Absolutely not. I have some clients that I have NEVER spoken to on the phone.

My time is precious. So is your time and the time of your clients. Communication is the key to a healthy relationship between you and your clients, but tell them what they need to know and leave it at that. It’ll save a lot of time and heartache for all of the parties involved.