Get rid off speech crutches or vocal crutches, in order to communicate effectively. So, are you one of those having this nasty habit of peppering your speech or conversation with the irritating pause fillers "aaahhh....", "errr..." "ummm...", "you know...", ?
Especially when you are groping for words or thoughts in the midst of your presentation or conversation.
Another reason is we feel uneasy with the short silence in between sentences.
We want to sound smooth or glib.
We ended up with these useless pause fillers called speech crutches, crutch words, vocal crutches or speech disfluencies.
They ruin your speech and disconnect it from your listeners.
In fact pauses or those short silence help to emphasize the message of points of our speech and give listeners time to understand what you are talking about.
When your grating "ahh-err-emm" or vocal crutches sound too often and too obvious in your speech, your listeners start to get on their nerves.
Try slowing down to reduce those vocal crutches.
2.Breathe In
Just when you feel you are going to utter the speech crutches, quickly inhale or breathe in.
3.Shut Your Mouth
Try to close your mouth when you know you have have nothing to say.
In fact pauses or those short silence help to emphasize the message of points of our speech and give listeners time to understand what you are talking about.
It is definitely sounds annoyingly irritating and distracting to your listeners with these speech crutches or crutch words.
These "aahhs, errs and umms" don't make you sound articulate or professional. It sounds sloppy, amateurish and definitely irritating.
When your grating "ahh-err-emm" or vocal crutches sound too often and too obvious in your speech, your listeners start to get on their nerves.
The worst part is they end up listening to them rather than your speech.
Frankly I am also one of those who are victim of speech crutches, before I have learned how to harness and eliminate them from my daily conversation or professional presentations.
Frankly I am also one of those who are victim of speech crutches, before I have learned how to harness and eliminate them from my daily conversation or professional presentations.
Most of the time, we just ignore them, unless it is salient or habitual.
Anyway, I am going to share with you various effective tips and techniques on how to overcome these ever-present annoying speech crutches or ahh-err-emm problem.
1. Slow Down
Anyway, I am going to share with you various effective tips and techniques on how to overcome these ever-present annoying speech crutches or ahh-err-emm problem.
1. Slow Down
As you know not of us have gift of gab. In other words, you do not have the ability to talk readily, glibly, and convincingly.
The word is glibly or it means slick or smooth-tongued.
So when you try to speak faster than you think, the co-ordination jams up.
You open your mouth and there is no suitable word or phrase pop right into your head as yet, so automatically would mumble "ahh-emm-emm" to fill up the gap, while your mind busily groping for the appropriate word or phrase.
Try slowing down to reduce those vocal crutches.
2.Breathe In
Just when you feel you are going to utter the speech crutches, quickly inhale or breathe in.
Immediately you will pause before the crutch word slips out.
3.Shut Your Mouth
Try to close your mouth when you know you have have nothing to say.
Many a times, speech crutches unknowingly appeared when you open your mouth.
At the time when you don't have a definite idea of what to say next.
Learn to pause. As I have mentioned earlier, the importance of pauses in a speech or conversation. Once you have a couple of words in your mind, then only you utter them.
4. "Grasp the subject the words will follow" - Cato The Elder
Learn to pause. As I have mentioned earlier, the importance of pauses in a speech or conversation. Once you have a couple of words in your mind, then only you utter them.
4. "Grasp the subject the words will follow" - Cato The Elder
As what the above quote says. Particularly for those making presentations or speeches.
The most effective way to avoid word crutches is know your material inside out. Know it like the back of your hand. Simply it means, well prepared.
These four valuable tips are from my personal experience.
These four valuable tips are from my personal experience.
They completely help me to eliminate these useless and irritable speech crutches or vocal crutches.
After getting rid of speech disfluencies, now I speak or rather articulate with more confident and less distraction.
Without these obstructive vocal crutches, you will sound knowledgeable and pleasant to their ears too.
Without these obstructive vocal crutches, you will sound knowledgeable and pleasant to their ears too.
You can find out more on speech crutches and other verbal blunders from Michael Erard's book: Um. . .: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean
