Rule #1. Say less than necessary

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Have you read the book, 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene? If you haven't, this book talks about how to be more "powerful". Not necessarily in politics but in your own game. You can have things your way if you only know how to play by the rules. One of the things that I find really intriguing in that book is this number 1 rule; Say less than necessary. Often times, we want to be an open book. We tend to say a lot of things to people we just met or even going as far as telling them who we are. In the end, we sound like losers or a nut case. In this book, Robert Greene emphasized the importance of saying less to saying nothing at all. He said that if someone is telling you a lot of things about themselves that means they are asking for your approval. By saying less than necessary, you keep them on the edge of their seats. They come up with things that you might say or might do but all those are speculations. In the end, you don't allow anyone to see through you based on the words you use. You only give them the benefit of the doubt.