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Hone the message, trim out the confusing jargon
The wrong words can sabotage your presentations, WALLACE IMMEN writes
WALLACE IMMEN -
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Globe and Mail, Career Column
As she listened to one of her fellow executives give a recent presentation, Bianca Stern began to notice a number of audience members scanning the room for the exit doors.
The presentation was filled with technical jargon. It was being delivered to a non-technical audience.
"I kept thinking, 'why are you saying it that way?' " recalls Ms. Stern, director of the occupational therapy division of Toronto's Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.
It's something she might not have noticed before this summer, when she began to take some coaching on her own speaking habits.
From that, she says, "I've realized how very easy it is to fall into using jargon and big or confusing words that listeners don't connect with at an emotional level or at any level."
Since then, she's been working on banishing technical jargon, extraneous words and catchphrases, such as "at the end of the day," from her own presentations.
Ms. Stern isn't the only one to utter such speaking no-nos. Nearly everyone develops habits of using words and phrases that can unconsciously sabotage their messages, says George Torok, president of Speech Coach for Executives in Burlington, Ont., and a speech instructor at the Canadian Management Centre in Toronto.
It's important to catch these habits and break them, because they can be career-limiting as people rise in authority, Mr. Torok says.
"When you are in a position of authority, people judge you on the tiniest things. And because they have a short time to judge you, they can form an opinion based on a single word," he says.
And there are many ways that your words can sabotage you, he adds, from spinning technical jargon to tossing out clichés, reaching for filler words and sounding unintentionally sarcastic.
What do all of these self-defeating words have in common? They get in the way of the message you're trying to deliver. It will come across more clearly without them, Mr. Torok says.
But in order to weed them out, you first have to realize they are there.
"Clients never come to me and say they know they are using the wrong words. They just know that what they are saying is not working, and they don't know why," Mr. Torok says.
Moreover, he's found in his coaching that the higher people rise in the organizational chart, the less likely others are to let them know, he adds.
"The fact is that when you are a CEO and you make self-sabotaging comments, no one is going to tell you. Even if you ask staff for feedback, they are going to say, 'Oh, you are a great boss,' " Mr. Torok says.
So he suggests a checkup with a coach or others who can help identify sabotaging words or phrases you may not realize you are using. He recommends audio- or videotaping yourself, then playing it back and taking stock of your use of language.
"Once you recognize the words you use that turn people off, you can start to take control by substituting a phrase with something more effective," Mr. Torok says.
It will take practice, but "using these words and phrases are habits and all habits are learned, which means they can be unlearned," Mr. Torok says.
You're more likely to be able to gradually ease off. For instance, for people who punctuate their statement with sounds like "um" and "ah," he recommends starting by just concentrating on replacing those annoying fillers with the word "and."
But don't stop there, Mr. Torok advises.
"The final step is to just leave an empty space where you would say 'and.' That can be difficult because we get nervous about silence and even more nervous about it being perceived as a flub."
That's where a video can be a good teaching aid. "People think a two-second pause is eternity, but to someone in the audience, it will seem a perfectly normal transition," he says.
In making changes to such ingrained habits, you have to give your self permission to make a mistake, Mr. Torok says.
The reason people fall back into bad speech habits is because they are afraid of making a blunder by trying something new.
"Tell yourself, 'that's life and I will get over it,' " he recommends.
If you stay calm and smile, even making the occasional error can be a career booster, he says. "It's a funny thing, but we admire people who are constantly trying to improve their effectiveness and show they can recover well," Mr. Torok says.
"It makes people think, 'This is the kind of person we want around here.' "
As for Ms. Stern, in only a few months, she says she's already seen an improvement in how her messages get across.
"It's not that it's a magic recipe but it has increased my awareness of honing the message to more effectively reach an audience," Ms. Stern says.
"The difference in how people stay with you when you hone the message to trim out confusing jargon, and try to stay as positive as possible -- it helps win them over."
WORDS TO AVOID
Negative words. Words such as "never," "can't" and "worst" make people tend to shut down. It's better to be positive.
Implications. Starting a discussion with "I don't know if you know this" comes across as an insult, implying you assume the person does not know.
Sarcastic words. Words such as obviously or really can be demeaning because they imply the speaker doesn't believe the listener is able to see beyond the obvious.
Arrogant assumptions. "I think you need to know" at the start of a sentence or "If you will" at the end sound scolding or condescending.
Vague statements. If you are confident in what you are saying, adding limp phrases such as "I think" and "I guess" lessen your credibility.
Confusing constructions. "I wouldn't hesitate to recommend" may sound positive but uses a negative to get to the point. Try something direct.
Filler words. "Umm" and "okay" are unnecessary silence fillers.
Excuse me's. "If it's no trouble" implies someone has a choice, when they don't.
Unnecessary additions. "To tell the truth," or "I'll be honest with you" suggest you have not been truthful in other things you have been saying.
Clichéd phrases. "Thinking outside the box" and "at the end of the day" are overused to the point where they become annoying to listeners.
Technical jargon. People on the inside already know the words, and those outside will need definitions. Stick to more conversational words that talk to everyone.
Colloquial terms. "You guys" and "like" are best left for after-work hours because they mark you as a junior.
SOURCE: GEORGE TOROK, SPEECH COACH
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