Clean Up the Script
Weekly Presence Prompt
As you may have read here, I am not a fan of “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told them.” I find that much of what we say when speaking in public is empty, filler language that not only gives the audience license to check-out and become passive, it undermines the whole point of speaking: we dilute our message with “weasel words.”
Sometimes we speak extraneously rather than extemporaneously. This happens when we have not prepared enough and when we are anxious.
Having a crafted and memorized opening and closing line helps. The beginning and ending are places we often meander in and sputter out, so knowing our bookends is important.
However, the most insidious language that clutters our speeches is often chosen by us!
“I’m going to tell you a story about my family growing up.”
“I’ll be getting back to this later in the talk.”
“I’m going to lecture for about ten minutes and then we’ll do an exercise.”
“So, the main points I want you to remember are…”
It’s a habit, like depending on text-heavy slides, that we lean on like a crutch.
Next time we have the wonderful opportunity to speak out in front of others, whether a team report-out, or a birthday toast, practice first, clean up the script, cut all the extraneous filler phrases (not the banter and fun!), and see how the talk sings!
#extraneouslanguage #publicspeaking #practice #communication
"I’ll be getting back to this later in the talk.” is the one I will be removing. Honestly, it has become synonymous with YouTube for me, where the speaker tries to get you to stay to the last minute of the video. No need to do that in a speech. Instead, just keep your audience engaged throughout.