The words that undermine your credibility

The words that undermine your credibility are often so small that you don’t even notice you’re using them. Phrases like I think, maybe, or I could be wrong, but… may seem harmless, yet they can unintentionally weaken your authority and reduce the impact of your message. Effective leaders know when to hedge their language and when to speak with conviction. By choosing your words intentionally, you communicate greater confidence, strengthen your executive presence, and inspire others to trust your ideas.

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There are tiny words which undermine your credibility and authority anytime you speak.

It’s not just the filler words, such as um or ah. We know about those. 

I’m talking about phrases like, I think or maybe or I may be way off base here, but…

Called “minimizers,” they quite literally minimize the words they’re describing. They depower the strength of your ideas or recommendations.

I hear this a lot from my Harvard students when they offer feedback to other students who gave speeches in class. Uncertain about how to offer feedback diplomatically (which is something we learn in their class), they hedge their feedback with “I think” or “perhaps,” as opposed to owning what they observed: “Here’s how your words impacted me.”

This happens in corporate America as well. 

Recently, one of my clients delivered a town hall to hundreds of teammates. This person would transition from one section to the next by saying “Maybe we’ll just cover…” instead of confidently stating, “Now let’s move on to…”

Use Hedging with Intention 

There is nothing wrong with using hedging language, especially in highly political or charged environments. In fact, I wrote an article for Harvard Business Review on “When filler words like “um” and “ah” are actually useful.” They can help you insert yourself into a conversation or de-escalate a potentially hostile situation.

The key, however, is to ensure you’re using them with intention, as opposed to unknowingly allowing your nervousness to undermine your power.

If you’re worried about your audience’s reaction to your words or are uncomfortable in front of them, then you’ll subconsciously use weak words in order to appear less threatening. The problem is that, verbally, you transmit that lack of confidence to your audience.

Confidence Starts Before You Speak 

How do you make your words more powerful?

Here is a strategy that comes directly from my keynote speeches and executive advisory work with senior leaders. 

Before a meeting or presentation, ask yourself one profound question: Why You? That question doesn’t mean “Why are you qualified?” It means “Why do you care about the work you do and the impact you have on others?”

When you take the time to connect with your sense of purpose, you build your confidence from the inside out. Then, you naturally transmit that confidence verbally by using stronger words. You don’t feel the need to apologize or diminish your power by using weak words.

In my research on believability, I’m seeing how important conviction is. Minimizers destroy conviction and insert doubt. If you want to insert doubt, there are ways you can speak about doubt with conviction.

Your words have power, and your ideas have power. Make sure that when you use minimizers, you do it strategically so that you don’t undermine the power of your ideas. 

Interested in learning more about my Executive Advisory one-on-one sessions? Send me an email and we’ll schedule time to talk!

Until next week,

~Allison

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What Gives Leaders Conviction?

One of the biggest assumptions I hear in my advisory work with senior leaders is that they don’t think their personal connection to the work is relevant. They believe their audience simply wants facts or figures.