19.05.2023

GET RID OF THESE PHRASES IF YOU WANT TO SOUND MORE CONVINCING

If you want to inspire more confidence and sound more convincing, you should get rid of a few phrases, or at least reduce their use:

"If I'm being honest"

This is one of the most commonly used expressions of this type. It also occurs as "honestly speaking" or "let me be honest". When you resort to this caveat, you're effectively telling your audience that everything else you're saying isn't true or sincere. Take for example the following statement: "Our team will complete the project on time, but to be honest, it will cost us a lot of effort." The second part of the sentence, which begins with "if we're being honest," calls into question the otherwise decisive position. Why create doubt in your audience when you are confident in your abilities? Remove this warning and be specific.

"In my opinion"

This phrase is also extremely popular, as with it the speaker wants to soften what he is about to say. Among her variations are "this is just my opinion" or "in my humble opinion". When you call your views "just opinion," you undermine their effect. This suggests that your statement reflects personal bias and some kind of bias, rather than a logical and well-argued position. If you want to sound more humble, you can replace this phrase with "I believe," but to show real confidence, it's best to state your views directly.

"You may already know this, but…"

People use this warning to sound more humble. However, in reality, this phrase suggests that what they say is superfluous and not worth hearing. Think before you speak. If you think others are aware of what you are about to say, either don't waste your time at all or present the information in a new way. People don't mind getting a different perspective on a topic they've already thought about.

"I'm not sure"

We often hear this from people who are actually quite confident in what they're saying, but don't want to sound arrogant. Take for example the sentence: “I'm not sure, but I think we could cut the time we spend on team meetings by half an hour. Here's how we can do it." By the time we get to the proposal itself, all team members have already written it off as worthless. Don't use phrases that effectively say "don't listen to me." Don't be afraid to share your ideas. Others will listen to you and take what advice they think is good.

"I could be wrong"

This expression shows weakness and insecurity. What reason do people have to listen to what you have to say if the information may be misleading or wrong? If a financial analyst says, "We expect inflation to rise, but I could be wrong," we won't know what to really prepare for. Forget about this warning and approach more tactfully. Taking the example of the financial analyst again, he might say, “We expect inflation to rise. The reasons for this are the following…”. Present a variety of potential outcomes to avoid giving the impression of a lack of preparation and knowledge.

"That's probably a stupid question"

By using this expression, you are doing yourself a disservice. Listeners will immediately ignore the words you say after it. Imagine a job interview where the candidate asks, "This is probably a stupid question, but could you tell me if you offer a work-from-home option." In most cases, this is a really stupid question, as employers explain these things in the job postings themselves or on their sites. Asking this question demonstrates that the candidate has not done their homework and familiarized themselves with the terms and conditions offered by the company.