3 Speaking Habits That Lessen Your Credibility.

Business speaking requires a level of professionalism. When a speaker introduces a weak speech pattern, it can hurt their credibility and undermine their message.

The three key patterns to avoid are:

Hedges: sort of, kind of, pretty much, maybe. These words create the impression that the speaker is not sure of their message. It makes the statement sound weak. 

Fillers: um, ah, I mean, you know, like. They detract from your confidence and lower feelings of trustworthiness.

Question tags: Isn’t it, don’t you, aren’t you.  These are questions tagged on to the end of a statement. (The meeting is tomorrow at 9. Isn’t it?) They undermine the strength of the information, and the speaker comes across as hesitant and insecure in their message. 

By avoiding these patterns, you will keep your speech strong and effective.