Most of us are English-medium pass-outs, yet we mumble-fumble when it comes to express ourselves in English language. Ever thought of it?
Most of the non-native speakers have learnt or studied the English language as a subject and not as a life skill, this contributes to the incompetency or the lack of confidence while communicating in English language and this very lack of confidence affects not just our job performance but also our capabilities as a professional (we all are afraid of being wrong/being judged/made fun of). To a great extent it hampers our growth as an individual.
Different people have different problems, to some it is just about not getting the appropriate vocabulary, some find the words stuck in their throat, others doubt their usage of the correct tense, and then there are some who unconsciously use fillers.
Fillers, most commonly seen, add to the break in your speech. They serve no purpose, fillers are better labeled as empty pauses.
If you use- ‘ummmm, uhhhh, well, you know, ahaa,’ frequently… you know what I mean. Most of the times, the speaker doesn’t even realize that he/she is using these fillers. These empty pauses become a habit. This habit broadcasts insecurity and stifle effective communication.
Fortunately, language problems are easy to identify and fix. All you need to do is start talking consciously. Talk slow- consciously- notice in what situations you take these fillers.
Whenever you are on the verge of using any filler- You take a pause.
Confident speakers pause, pausing as the punctuation of speech, a period is a pause when you’re reading, so are the colons, and the commas.
PS: an easy method to get rid of these empty fillers is to record yourself and listen to it.
Most commonly used fillers are: ah, um, actually, literally, I mean, like, you know, only, etc.
Drop me line here or shoot an email at archana@archanaparmar.com if you want to know more about the tips and tools to become a confident speaker.