Art of Eloquence Blog — weasel words RSS

In the same way that decluttering your house simplifies your life, decluttering your communication simplifies your message.  While cleaning out your closets makes room for the important things you need to store, cleaning out unnecessary words and phrases allows more focus on your most important points and infuses it with power. What is the clutter of communication?  Weasel Words.  Weasel Words are a dead giveaway that you are nervous or unsure of yourself.  They devalue your leadership, curtail your effectiveness and destroy your credibility.  Weasel Words come in three forms. 1.  Unnecessary Words When a person is nervious or unsure of what to say, they fill their conversation with unnecessary words like: "I’m gonna go ahead and,"  "kind of/kinda" and "sort of/sorta."   This...

Weasel Words are a dead give away that you are nervous or not sure of yourself.  Weasel Words and phrases exhaust you and suck all the power out of your communication.  They zap your leadership, curtail your effectiveness and destroy your credibility.  So what are Weasel Words? What's wrong with this picture? FRED: "Ok people, settle down now.  Shhhh...   Ok. I'm gonna go ahead and ask that you all quiet down so we can get some work done here.  I know you are all anxious about our trip, but I'm gonna ask that you all focus now.  Rehearsals start at 6pm and I'd like to ask that each one of you respects, you know, everyone's time...well, my time...  I'm gonna...