Mistakes in Your Everyday Speech
The following are the seven deadly sins of impromptu (спонтанный) speaking. Commit them, and you’ll undercut (ослабить самопрезентацию) your image. Avoid them and you’ll strengthen your leadership.
Mistake #1. SPEAKING BEFORE THINKING
Topping the list of impromptu sins is speaking before you’ve collected your thoughts. Winston Churchill joked about such speakers: “Before they get up, they do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, they do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, they do not know what they have said.”
Talking before formulating your ideas makes you sound sketchy (неподготовленно). The words flow, but the ideas are half-baked. And you’ll find you have to resort to such phrases as, “So what I’m saying is,” or, “As I said before.” Want to avoid such gobbledygook (напыщенность речи)?
Prepare to be spontaneous. If you know you’re going to meet with your boss, jot down a set of bullet points that make your case. If you’re in a meeting and want to contribute to the discussion, pause, formulate your message, then speak up. If you see a colleague coming down the hall, think, “What point do I want to make with her?” In short, think before you speak.
