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e option B’ and ‘option B was selected.’</p><p id="dda2">The first phase shows that you took ownership and made a choice. The second implies that you sat like that lump of Jello while someone else took control.</p><h2 id="59cf">Stay calm under pressure</h2><p id="5443">The office is not always a friendly place. Your employer expects you to deliver, and most big companies don’t want anyone to rock the boat. If you miss a target or a deadline or propose something radical, people are going to challenge you. Those challenges may be both public and harsh.</p><p id="9be6">Keep your cool when this happens. Before answering a tough or confrontational question, take a breath and think about your words. Then answer calmly and clearly. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Commit to providing it after the meeting, and be sure to follow up.</p><p id="0055">Don’t use <i>uptalk,</i> the habit of raising your pitch at the end of a sentence. Uptalk turns a statement into a question. It implies that you need the listener to validate your statement by agreeing with you.</p><h2 id="b901">Speak naturally</h2><p id="17f2">You have your own unique style of talking that is precisely right for you. Use it. Whether speaking to one person or thousands, always sound like yourself, not as though you are scripted by someone else. Your voice can and should rise and fall, speed up or slow down, depending on your content.</p><p id="9008">Don’t confuse authentic and informal. Use the right words for the situation. <i>‘That idea sucks’</i> might be your authentic opinion, but it’s unprofessional to say it that way in a meeting. <i>‘I don’t agree’</i> or ‘<i>I don’t see how that can work’</i> are far more professional options.</p><h2 id="5765">Be specific and precise</h2><p id="533f">Avoid jargon, slang, and euphemisms. They make you sound pretentious. If you believe your client needs to sell off a piece of property, say that you recommend selling the

Options

building on 30th Street. Don’t strongly encourage the rapid monetization of the physical asset.</p><p id="1042">Saying what you mean also means being precise when it counts. Provide numbers when you can. Give your audience specifics: how much will you sell, in what time frame, and where?</p><p id="fac3"><i>‘Sales will be unbelievably high’</i> sounds like a cheerleading squad yelling ‘Go, Team!’</p><p id="1b3b"><i>‘We will sell 5,000 turbine engines in France in the next 6 months’</i> is a professional sales forecast.</p><h2 id="9d3d">Focus on what matters to your audience</h2><p id="11f0">Don’t talk to hear the sound of your own voice. Imagine yourself listening to your words: will you pay attention, or will your mind drift to this weekend’s plans?</p><p id="a09c">Respect your audience’s time by telling them what they need to know. If you are asking them for money, tell them how much you need and how you will use it. Use the <a href="https://youtu.be/Xz6VcvvWYb0">PREP Model</a>: state your position, give your reason and 2–3 examples, then restate your position. Give your audience everything they need to know, and only what they care about.</p><h2 id="5a5c">Start now</h2><p id="fe19">Do you speak like a professional? If you’re not sure, record yourself giving a presentation or talking with a colleague. Be prepared for surprises: you probably don’t notice your own fillers, uptalk, or bad habits.</p><p id="d06c">Listen for what you do well, and for how you can improve. Enlist a trusted colleague to help. If you use a particular filler word, ask them to note how many times you use it in your next meeting. Then work on reducing that by 10% each month. With time, you will eliminate it.</p><p id="4158">Keep working on your speaking style. Replace fillers, jargon, uptalk, and the passive tense with focused, precise, active sentences that highlight your knowledge and take-charge attitude in your own words.</p></article></body>

6 Tips for More Effective Business Communication

Tell us what matters. Skip the blah blah.

Communication is core to success at work. What you say and how you say it are significant factors in whether colleagues see you as a genuine expert, a bragging blowhard, or an incapable lump of Jello.

Business professionals have their own way of speaking: their tone of voice, the words they use, and the way they present information. Succeeding in this environment requires matching the expected style while maintaining your own unique voice.

Mastering just 6 simple aspects of your speaking style will help you sound credible and professional.

Use short, clear, declarative sentences

If you can’t focus on what you say, why should anyone listen? Repeated words, sounds, or phrases such as um, actually, like, and to make a long story short are empty fillers. They add nothing and distract your audience. They also make you sound unsure of yourself and the points you raise.

Short sentences focus your message, communicate your expertise and make it easier for your audience to follow.

Use the active tense

Are you a doer, or a done to-er? Professionals make things happen. They take actions, make decisions and move work along to completion.

Think of the difference between ‘I chose option B’ and ‘option B was selected.’

The first phase shows that you took ownership and made a choice. The second implies that you sat like that lump of Jello while someone else took control.

Stay calm under pressure

The office is not always a friendly place. Your employer expects you to deliver, and most big companies don’t want anyone to rock the boat. If you miss a target or a deadline or propose something radical, people are going to challenge you. Those challenges may be both public and harsh.

Keep your cool when this happens. Before answering a tough or confrontational question, take a breath and think about your words. Then answer calmly and clearly. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Commit to providing it after the meeting, and be sure to follow up.

Don’t use uptalk, the habit of raising your pitch at the end of a sentence. Uptalk turns a statement into a question. It implies that you need the listener to validate your statement by agreeing with you.

Speak naturally

You have your own unique style of talking that is precisely right for you. Use it. Whether speaking to one person or thousands, always sound like yourself, not as though you are scripted by someone else. Your voice can and should rise and fall, speed up or slow down, depending on your content.

Don’t confuse authentic and informal. Use the right words for the situation. ‘That idea sucks’ might be your authentic opinion, but it’s unprofessional to say it that way in a meeting. ‘I don’t agree’ or ‘I don’t see how that can work’ are far more professional options.

Be specific and precise

Avoid jargon, slang, and euphemisms. They make you sound pretentious. If you believe your client needs to sell off a piece of property, say that you recommend selling the building on 30th Street. Don’t strongly encourage the rapid monetization of the physical asset.

Saying what you mean also means being precise when it counts. Provide numbers when you can. Give your audience specifics: how much will you sell, in what time frame, and where?

‘Sales will be unbelievably high’ sounds like a cheerleading squad yelling ‘Go, Team!’

‘We will sell 5,000 turbine engines in France in the next 6 months’ is a professional sales forecast.

Focus on what matters to your audience

Don’t talk to hear the sound of your own voice. Imagine yourself listening to your words: will you pay attention, or will your mind drift to this weekend’s plans?

Respect your audience’s time by telling them what they need to know. If you are asking them for money, tell them how much you need and how you will use it. Use the PREP Model: state your position, give your reason and 2–3 examples, then restate your position. Give your audience everything they need to know, and only what they care about.

Start now

Do you speak like a professional? If you’re not sure, record yourself giving a presentation or talking with a colleague. Be prepared for surprises: you probably don’t notice your own fillers, uptalk, or bad habits.

Listen for what you do well, and for how you can improve. Enlist a trusted colleague to help. If you use a particular filler word, ask them to note how many times you use it in your next meeting. Then work on reducing that by 10% each month. With time, you will eliminate it.

Keep working on your speaking style. Replace fillers, jargon, uptalk, and the passive tense with focused, precise, active sentences that highlight your knowledge and take-charge attitude in your own words.