I asked my class, “What are the two most valuable pieces of property on the Monopoly board?” Someone usually responds with “Park Place and Boardwalk!” If you own those two pieces of property, what would you put on them? I’m guessing hotels! When you have prime property, you always think carefully about what you want to do with that property.
The same holds true for your first impression when speaking. Your audience’s first impression of you is your prime real estate. Whether you want to argue a first impression only takes a 1/10th of a second, 7 seconds, or 30 seconds, we can all agree it happens quickly!
How will you invest in your 1st impression?
When I’m working with someone preparing for a speech or presentation I like to ask them how they’re going to start. I hear a lot of tired, old, cliche words from speakers. That is not the best way to invest in your prime real estate! Here are a few of those phrases we all need to eliminate.
5 Phrases to Eliminate and How:
These are the five most frequent phrases I hear used in the Park Place / Boardwalk position and they need to be eliminated! Don’t put yourself at a disadvantage from the very start. Change your word choice to be much more engaging to the audience.
1. “I want to talk to you about…”
WHO CARES what YOU WANT to talk about! The audience showed up for a reason. In other words, THEY WANT something! Why don’t speakers focus on what the audience came for? Instead you hear this tired old phrase about what the speaker wants. This phrase sets the tone that it’s not about the audience, it’s about the speaker. I don’t care if you’re the boss or the leader, it’s actually NOT ABOUT YOU! If you want the audience to be impressed or do anything, you need to focus on them. They need something from you!
Suggestion:
Think about changing your words to something like, “Today you’re going to hear…” or “I want to give you…” Stop focusing your words on what you want from this presentation and focus on the audience. If you focus on giving them what they want and need, you’re more likely to get what you want too!
2. “Today I’m going to take some time and…”
Really? You’re going to take something from your audience in the first few seconds of speaking? I’m not just being crazy. I’m serious. Why would you take something from your audience as soon as you start? It seriously makes you sound selfish from the very start! Please stop taking and start giving something to your audience!
Suggestion:
Think about changing your words to something like, “Over the next 10 minutes you’re going to hear…” or maybe “Today I’m going to give you…” It’s not about taking from the the audience, it’s about giving to them!
3. “Thank you, I’m happy to be here…”
Pleasantries like this sound simple enough but they’re a dangerous game. If you say you’re happy to be on stage but the audience doesn’t see it in your face, then you don’t look sincere. It can actually damage your credibility because you sound like you’re just saying the right things but you don’t actually mean it. According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian and his work back in 1967, when people receive a mixed message (saying one thing but showing something else), they struggle to understand what the true interpretation should be. 93% of the time people will believe what they see and how it sounds instead of the actual words they hear.
Suggestion:
Don’t say phrases like this at all! Instead, focus on what you’re showing in your body language and facial expressions. If you’re going to thank your audience at all, I recommend you thank them in the middle of your presentation or toward the end. Some of the most authentic expressions of gratitude I’ve ever heard from a speaker were done at an unexpected time while they were presenting. Done at the very beginning, it sounds forced and insincere.
4. “Good morning, for those of you who don’t know me…”
Is it really necessary to divide your audience and speak to only some of them? I’m pretty sure the ones who don’t know you, already know that they don’t know you! These types of preface comments take up valuable time and sound like so many other boring presentations the audience has heard before. When you make a cliche comment your audience has heard a thousand times before, they feel like your presentation is going to be just like all the others. My guess is… that’s probably not such a good thing because many of the presentations they’ve heard before have been boring.
Suggestion:
No need to speak to only a portion of the audience. If you feel like you need to introduce yourself, then just do it.
5. “I’m gonna tell you a story…”
Why are you doing the play-by-play of your own presentation? I’m not joking. As the audience, we don’t need you to tell us what you’re about to do, just do it. It’s almost as bad as people who speak about themselves in the 3rd person. “Russ doesn’t like kale.” I wouldn’t say that. Although, I don’t like kale. I would just say, “I don’t like kale.” Stop giving us the play-by-play of what’s about to happen and just do it!
Suggestion:
Just tell the story. We don’t need the setup. I coach my speakers to do three things before beginning a story: pause, break eye contact, and move to a different spot on the stage. All three of these signal to the audience, something is about to happen. There is no need to tell them with your words.
If you want to be perceived as different, then you need to be different. These are some of the most common phrases I hear and they all have a simple fix. Do you want to grab their attention from the very beginning? Don’t sound like everyone else.
Do not pass GO, Do not collect $200…
Russ
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Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a speaker, international trainer, and published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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