009 TPS Um, Like, How to Sound Ditzy?

(upbeat music) - This is the public speaker, quick and dirty tips for improving your communication skills with your host Lisa B. Marshall. - So I've noticed that more and more people are working remotely, either from their iPads or their iPhones. I suppose people are trying to leave their laptops behind so they can work later. I know that I've been doing that. But sometimes it seems like your iPad or the iPhone, it just can't replace the office computer. There's just too many files on it. That is unless you have go to my PC app. It's, in essence, the missing link. It turns your iPad or your iPhone into your computer. It's actually pretty cool. Go to my PC, it's my Citrix, and you can access either your Mac or a PC. Works on any program you can save, edit, you can send the file to anywhere. And go to my PC, it's really convenient, it's reliable and definitely really easy to use. Just sets up in minutes. So while you're on the go, if you've got an urgent request, maybe you need to edit a PowerPoint slide or update a spreadsheet or print out a document, or work on really any of the files, you can do it right from your phone or from your iPad. It's amazing. I know I've used it a couple times now when I've been at conferences. I really love it. Recently I attended a training course in New York City and at the start of the course, each of us introduced ourselves. The senior executive sitting next to me said and I quote, I like work for a big bank, like Citibank, I work in technology and head up a group of like 500 people, right? I do like technology risk assessment, right? And create processes to like reduce risk, right? I was shocked. He was a business professional, a senior director at a major organization, and yet he sounded more like a valley girl. His speech was so infected with like, right? And um, that the message was muddled, and he significantly diminished his credibility. These credibility killers, fluency disruptions, communicate doubt, especially at the end of a phrase. When he was talking, I found myself thinking, doesn't he know exactly how many people work for him? Does he work for Citibank? Or does he really work somewhere else? This fluency is in general weekend messages. They're distracting for your listeners and they make you sound bad. In the first 30 seconds, I counted four likes, three rights, and two ums. Worse, I'm certain that Tom had no idea that his speech was infected with these verbal viruses. In his defense, credibility killers, for example, like, so, you know, right, uh, uh, are actually really common in everyday conversation. Researchers say that 20% of words in everyday conversation are disloancies. In fact, people around the world fill pauses in their own way. In Britain, they say, uh, Hebrew speakers say, eh, the Turks say, hmm, the Japanese say, eh, too, and ah no. Spanish speakers, Esto, and Mandarin speakers, Nego, and Jago. In Dutch and German, it's, uh, um, um, in Swedish, it's a-a-a, um, um, um, um, uh, oh, man, this is starting to sound like an x-rated podcast. I better stop. I think you have the idea. As a communications coach, I noticed disloancies the most when people are nervous. In fact, for some people, it's the only time these little buggers show up. Unfortunately, that's usually when clear and confident communication is most important. So today's episode is about what you can do to boost your immunity to these viruses. It's about how you can reduce disloancies. Notice I didn't say get rid of them all together. Reduction versus complete elimination should be your goal. The first and most important step towards more fluent speaking is to become aware of your distracting speech habits. The fastest way to find out if you have trouble in this area is to ask a close trusted friend or a public speaking coach. Hint, hint. Anyway, perhaps the best way is to record yourself. If you're comfortable with technology, I suggest using free audio editing software, GarageBand on Mac and Audacity for PC. With this software, you actually see your words in audio format. For more simplistic solution, try others. That's U-T-T-E-R-Z.com. You can just call a phone number and it will record your voice. Once you've got some sample recordings, the next step is to play back your recordings several times. Listen specifically for your disloancies. Go ahead, make a game of it. First just list them and then start counting them. If you're counting past three or four, you know you have a problem. If recording seems like too much effort, just focus for one week on listening, really listening carefully for distractors when you talk. Some experts like to suggest you put tiny, um, and astickers on your computer or your cell phone to remind you to be listening. Trust me, after a week of listening or recording and listening, you'll have become acutely aware of your specific problems. And that's exactly what you need awareness. You need to be able to hear your disloancies in your mind before you blurt them out. If you've done your homework, you'll know when one of your credibility killers is just about to escape from your mouth. Then all you need to do is keep quiet. I know, easier said than done. At first you'll have awkward pauses in your speech, but that's still better, actually far better than speech peppered with likes and ums. Eventually the pauses get shorter. With time, you'll be more fluent and have fewer ums and ahs. So the next time you introduce yourself, be warned, somebody sitting next to you might just be counting your ums ahs and you nose. Don't let your disloancies kill your credibility. It really is worth it to take some time to focus on this. You can make a big difference in how you're perceived. This is Lisa B. Marshall, the public speaker passionate about communication, your success is my business. So why don't you try go to my PC? Today you have a special 30 day free trial just for my listeners. Visit gotomypc.com, click on try it free button and enter the promo code podcast. Then you download the free app to your iPhone or your iPad and that's it, go to my pc.com, try it for free promo code podcast. If you have questions about how to communicate better at work, leave a voicemail at 206-350-7970 or email [email protected]. Sign up for Lisa's newsletter or get information about speeches and workshops by visiting LisaB. Marshall.com. You can find a transcript of this show and links to connect with Lisa at publicspeaker.quickendirtytips.com.