Nairobi, April 1 -- As I interact with different kinds of people, in one-on-ones or group sessions, in board meetings or workshops, I am exposed to bright sparks who speak too quickly. And as I listen to them I speculate on why they're breaking the vocal speed limits.

My first thought is that the root cause of the fast speaking is fast thinking: needing to speak at a pace that keeps up with the speed at which their scripts are being formulated upstairs. Others, however, rush through what they have to say because they don't want to occupy too much of our time, or are actually bound by a time limit and don't want to miss anything out.

Whatever the reason, the consequence is that they leave us panting with exhaustion as we try to keep up w...