I’ve been talking to lawyers about their initial consultations this week. I’ve been asking what goes on, who does the talking, and what gets said.

One theme: lawyers talk more than clients. That’s not good. You want to be in listening mode as much as possible. You’re more likely to be retained, and thus able to help, if you let the prospective client do most of the talking.

At some point, however, you’re going to need to talk. It’s inevitable.

How do you say enough without saying too much? What should you say?

Here’s the deal with consults. Your job is to explain things to a person who isn’t going to absorb much of what you say. You’re talking to a person in distress, and he or she can only take in so much. Your mission is to give the person a sense of how things work without overwhelming him or her. Keep it short and keep it simple.

Explain that you’ve done this before. Let the client know that you’ve heard what he or she said. Walk through a plan that acknowledges the client’s priorities and works toward achieving his or her goals.

But—and this is critical—keep it very simple. Avoid legalese. Avoid long-winded explanations. This needs to be a very high-level plan.

Limit the plan to five steps (three if you can do it); for example, “I want to talk this through with you. I’ve got a five-step plan that will help us achieve your objectives.”

Keep each of the steps simple—no more than a sentence or two.

“Step one: We gather financial information from you and your spouse. We’ll get everything we need. If you don’t have it, we’ll get your spouse to provide it.”

“Step two: We’ll put together a draft agreement. You’ll review it, and we’ll tweak it before we show it to anyone. We’ll be sure to build in some negotiating room so we can work our way toward getting what you want.”

“Step three: We’ll present the agreement and go back and forth negotiating. If we run into roadblocks, we’ll talk about a mediator or a settlement conference.”

Add two more steps, and you’ve got a five-step plan. That’s it. That’s about all your prospective client can take in at this point. Keep it very simple. Only add more detail if the client is asking for it, and even then, err on the side of oversimplification.

Sometimes it’s tempting to go further and talk more because the client is financially sophisticated. It seems like the client’s getting it, and you want to provide as much helpful information as you can. Be careful. Even the financially sophisticated client gets overwhelmed by the emotion. The client may be financially astute, but most people simply aren’t capable of dealing with and processing all of the emotions. Emotional overwhelm has the effect of blocking the input of information.

Being conscious of the way your prospective client’s brain is working during his or her first meeting with you is important to building a rapport and being successful at turning a prospective client into a client. Be a listener, not a talker, and you’ll end up with more clients.