Add Power to Your Public Speaking with this Simple Tip
As with all skills, there are shortcuts to improved performance in persuasive public speaking. Also, these shortcuts are often as much about elimination as they are about addition. In this article, I reveal one element that you can subtract from your speeches in order to add power to your presentations. Let us begin.
The verbal limp
What is the Achilles heel that causes your language to limp? What is this hidden power-sapping habit that weakens your persuasive power? It is the use of what I call weasel words.
Weasel words are words that imply uncertainty in your proposition. Words like maybe, perhaps, hopefully. Also phrases like “I don’t know…”, “I guess” and all their spineless lexical cousins count in my book as weasel words.
I call these weasel words because we use them (often unconsciously) to give ourselves room to weasel out of being held to our position. The trade-off is that we come across as lacking conviction and confidence. This, in turn, weakens our credibility and this makes persuasion difficult.
In short, weasel words weaken our credibility!
Think about it—why should the audience listen to you and believe what you are saying if you don’t sound like you believe it?
Now, there are occasions where you may use weasel words strategically such as to soften your argument and make it easier for a disagreeable audience to entertain your suggestions. For example, say you were presenting a radical idea for increasing profitability to your company’s top executives. Also, say these folks are kind of set in their ways about how to go about this. IN this case, weasel words can be employed strategically to open them up to at least hearing you out.
You might say:
“Most of us are certain that the way to increase our market share is to lower our prices to match our competitors. I’m here to suggest that maybe there is a better, more effective and more profitable approach….”
This is a subtle but powerful persuasive technique. But for it to work, it must be used thoughtfully and in combination with other well-selected elements. For most speakers though, weasel words are used and abused with no real intention.
Next time you are drafting your speech, look for and exterminate idle weasel words. Reconstruct your language in strong and positive sentences. This will convey confidence and instantly add power to your presentation.
Until next time, speak with Skill!
