deepstash
Beta
8 Conversational Habits That Kill Credibility
Upticks
They turn statements into questions: a raise of pitch at the end of the sentence or an actual phrase, like "........., you know?" or "............, eh?" They indicate that you're not confident in your communication skills.
Ask a specific question instead, such as "Does that make sense so far?"
221 SAVES
This is a professional note extracted from an online article.
Read more efficiently
Save what inspires you
Remember anything
IDEA EXTRACTED FROM:
8
Key Ideas
Using too much jargon
When you constantly take over normal words and use them in odd ways to make them sound "businessy", people will most likely roll their eyes.
Stick to using words as they're defined in the dictionary.
Clichés
Unoriginal expressions used so frequently that they've actually lost meaning like "out-of-the-box thinking" could reveal a lack of respect for the listener.
Avoid metaphors completely or use original ones. If that's too hard, tweak the wording of clichés to make them less cliché-ish.
Prolixity
Using big, impressive sounding words rather than smaller, common ones can leave listeners with the impression that you're pompous and pretentious.
The fix, in this case, is a big dose of humility.
Hiccup words
These are words or sounds you insert into sentences when you're pausing to think. Examples: 'um', 'like'. Too much of these will annoy your audience.
When you simply pause in silence, rather than trying to fill the thinking space with the hiccup, you end up sounding wise and like you're choosing your words carefully.
Weasel words
These are attempts to disguise ugly facts as abstractions. Examples: using "development opportunity" when you mean "drudgery," or saying "rightsizing" when you mean "firing people." They mark you as a coward.
You'll get more respect and credibility in the long run for telling unpleasant truths than for pleasant-sounding lies.
Fake apologies
This is what people do when they feel socially obligated to apologize but they aren't really sorry. This ends up being even more offensive. Example: "I'm sorry if anybody was offended."
If you can't apologize from the heart, don't bother, because you're not really apologizing.
Spray and pray
This consists of blurting out a stream of facts or observations before finding out which ones (if any) might actually be of interest to the listener.
To avoid this, ask questions, respond to comments, figure out what's needed, and only then trot out facts and observations that are immediately relevant.
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
9
Key Ideas
Too much noise, too little attention
Nobody wants to read anything you write at work. It's not personal though. We just happen to live in a world where there is so much information asking for our attention.
We can take a...
Write less often
Things that are rare and dwindling become more attractive and are perceived as more valuable. The less we write, the more valuable our writing becomes.
Refrain from responding immediately. If another recipient should answer, give the person the right of first response. Ask yourself:
- Do I need to send this now?
- If not, do I need to send it at all?
- If so, does more than one person really need it?
Fewer words
We long for clarity and for other people to say what they mean in as few words as possible.
Making wordy sentences that lose their fluency due to needless complexity in a text negatively affects the receiver of your message. In short: big is bad.
6 more ideas
12
Key Ideas
Learning a new language: knowing the most used words
In English, just 300 words make up 65% of all written material. We use those words a lot, and that’s the case in every other language as well.
Use flash cards of t...
Learning cognates
Cognates are “true friends” of words you recognize from your native language that mean the same thing in another language.
For instance:
- Words like Action, nation, precipitation, solution, frustration, and thousands of other -tion words are spelled exactly the same in French, and you can quickly get used to the different pronunciation. Change that -tion to a -ción and you have the same words in Spanish. Italian is -zione and Portuguese is -ção.
- Many languages also have words that share a common (Greek/Latin or other) root.
- Even languages as different as Japanese can have heaps of very familiar vocabulary.
Interact in your new language daily
- To hear the language consistently spoken, you can check out TuneIn.com for a vast selection of live-streamed radio from your country of choice.
- To watch the language consistently, see what’s trending on Youtube in that country right now.
- To read the language consistently, you can find cool blogs and other popular sites on Alexa’s ranking of top sites per country.
9 more ideas
6
Key Ideas
Falling in love
To us, being loved in a relationship is perhaps the highest ideal. It gives our lives meaning and purpose. Being loved validates our sense of self-esteem and soothes our fears of loneliness.
Whom We Find Attractive
Our self-esteem, mental and emotional health, positive and negative life experiences, and family relations all influence whom we’re attracted to.
The Ideal Stage of Romance
There is an amount of healthy idealization that helps us fall in love.
However, if we’re depressed or have low self-esteem, we’re more likely to idealize a prospective partner and overlook signs of trouble, such as unreliability or addiction, or accept disrespectful or abusive behavior. A lack of a support system or loneliness might also blind us to potential faults.
It is far better to first deal with these concerns before entering into a relationship.
3 more ideas