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About this lesson
Speakers often try to sound smarter by using big words or specific phrases, but this is counterintuitive to good communication.
- 00:05 The problem of people using uhs and ums,
- 00:08 ers, other verbal tics has been around a long time.
- 00:12 And there have been a lot of solutions, and
- 00:17 a lot of well meaning people and organizations, stop that.
- 00:24 Have you ever seen someone do this?
- 00:26 I have, and it makes it even more nerve wracking.
- 00:30 Someone trying to be helpful, sits in the back of the room,
- 00:35 and rings a bell when you say uhh or umm.
- 00:38 This is awful.
- 00:40 Now, I love the folks at Toastmasters.
- 00:43 It's a great organization.
- 00:44 I recommend my clients go to Toastmasters.
- 00:47 But there's one thing I really don't like and don't think as effective with
- 00:52 Toastmasters, is that in many chapters, they either ring a bell or
- 00:56 they'll take a knife, and hit a glass, and a ringing sound.
- 01:00 And they'll count every single little umm.
- 01:03 To me, this is counterproductive.
- 01:05 It gets someone focusing on the ums, not delivering actual information.
- 01:11 When you're speaking, you want to focus on your ideas, coming alive,
- 01:16 being interesting and engaging to the people or the person you're speaking to.
- 01:21 You don't want to be sitting back thinking, uh oh, please, please.
- 01:24 Please don't let, I've done it again.
- 01:28 So I beg you, don't count your uhs and ums while you're speaking.
- 01:33 If you want to record it and do it after, that's fine.
- 01:37 Don't let anyone else do this.
- 01:40 Don't be aware of it as you're speaking.
- 01:43 When you're speaking, you need to speak.
- 01:47 When you're giving a speech or presentation, or briefing,
- 01:51 especially if it's a so called formal speech.
- 01:54 There is the tendency to want to utilize words like utilize when instead,
- 01:59 you could simply use, use.
- 02:01 One of the big problems many people have when they're giving a presentation, and
- 02:05 they're out of their comfort zone.
- 02:08 That's when the uhs and ums start creeping in.
- 02:10 The reason it happens is people are searching for bigger words than usual.
- 02:16 They're thinking of that word they wrote down on a script or a PowerPoint slide.
- 02:20 They're trying to remember the perfect word.
- 02:23 Let me tell you, when you're giving a speech, a presentation or a talk,
- 02:28 very rarely does it matter the exact word you use.
- 02:31 What matters is the idea you convey and that you convey it in a comfortable,
- 02:36 conversational, interesting, memorable way.
- 02:39 So, the big stumbling block for a lot of people,
- 02:43 they're trying to remember exact phrases.
- 02:46 They're trying to search for that perfect word that they can't find that word and
- 02:50 Umm umm umm, it's almost there.
- 02:51 I almost see it.
- 02:53 And you've destroyed the whole perception of you being comfortable and confident.
- 02:57 So, the solution is not to spend even more time rehearsing and memorizing.
- 03:03 The solution is, don't focus on any particular word.
- 03:08 Instead, focus on one idea at a time.
- 03:12 That way, you can just use the first word that comes to you.
- 03:16 The first word that comes to you is usually the best word.
- 03:20 And that word is rarely ever going to be uhh or umm or err.
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