Four presentation tips to eliminate Um’s and Ah’s
Presenting your business or your business case is a necessary skill for the entrepreneur. Yet few of us focus our attention on how we actually sound when presenting our 45 second spiel, when we present to an audience or how we actually come across on the phone.
I bet you, like me, have words or expressions that you overuse. You use them so frequently you don’t hear them.
Your fillers could be just Um’s and Ah’s, or you could be using:
- Just …
- Like…
- Actually…
- So…
- Honestly…
- Literally…
- Truly…
- Ok…
- Right…
We use fillers subconsciously and usually to give us time to think about out next point. When giving a business presentation to pitch it’s important to become aware of your habits, and learn what your ‘go to’ filler words are. We often pick them up from other people – especially when a key part of ‘active listening is to replicate and rephrase – so it can be tricky to avoid. E.g. every time my husband comes back from the Isle of Man he starts calling every woman ‘love’!
Sometimes we turn to our fillers when we are presenting in front of a room, when we are excited or nervous, or when we have to deliver bad news.
Well here’s my challenge. Send yourself a message on your voicemail as if you are speaking with a customer, potential client or supplier. So send and listen to your message. How did it sound – did you get your point across? Did you have any repetitive ‘fillers’? What could be improved?
Four tips to improve your presentation:
- Be prepared and practice. The more you practice your spiel the less likely you are to use fillers.
- Use Pause: don’t be afraid to over pause – use the pause to think of your next point rather than a filler.
- Before you start, say the phrase, “I am a person that uses pause perfectly” out loud. You have to slow down and enunciate that phrase (so much alliteration).
- Project your voice. It’s really hard to say “um…” when you speak with energy, pitch, and projection, and; it makes it more engaging for your audience.
Do you have any unusual ‘fillers’?
