Do Your Irritate Your Audience?
Whenever you open your mouth whether your audience is one person or one thousand, you want to get a specific message across. Maybe you want your opinions heard at a meeting or you will be giving a formal talk. Perhaps you deliver sales presentations. To present, persuade, and propel with the spoken word, be aware of this major pitfall: irritating non-words.
“Ur, um, hr, u know, kinda, um, ya know…”
Pay attention to whether you are unconsciously using these common non-words.
One speaker I heard began every thought with, “Now…” He started every single presentation point with “Now….” This might be okay occasionally, but not every thirty seconds. Record yourself and check whether you have bad verbal habits. The “er, um, ya knows” usually end up inserted where there should simply be a pause.
Awareness is the best way to break these bad habits.
I worked with a sales team pitching a five hundred thousand dollar contract, and their bad verbal habits included “kind of” and “sort of.” “Kind of ” and “sort of” do not sound clear, crisp, and precise. They don’t instill the confidence and trust needed to close a sale of this magnitude. The sales team wasn’t even aware they were making these major mistakes.
Record your words.
Raise your own awareness of your bad habits. Give your friends permission to point it out when you are using your go-to filler words.
If you have an important presentation coming up, you might want to practice it, have it transcribed, and study the words that came out of your mouth.
Get rid of the irritating non-words and you will be a much more effective presenter.
If you want to become a great speaker easily, conveniently, and quickly, Fripp Virtual Training can help.
“I wanted a super bowl-quality coach, and I was lucky to be introduced to Patricia Fripp. Her help in coaching and scripting was world-class. With Patricia Fripp on your team, you can go places.”
– Don Yaeger, Long-Time Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated magazine, Award-Winning Keynote Speaker, New York Times Best-Selling Author
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Executive Speech Coach and Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker Patricia Fripp works with individuals and companies who realize that powerful, persuasive presentation skills give them a competitive edge.
Need help for you or your team on improving important conversations and presentations? The Fripp Customized Approach will work for you. Contact Fripp today!
