5 Tips on How to Talk Like a Boss If you want to position yourself as a leader, avoid these verbal crutches and throwaway phrases.

By Tor Constantino Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

If you've spent any amount of time around top executives or business leaders, you've probably found that most of them don't speak like your typical employee. There is a recognizable confidence, timbre and clarity to their vocal presence that can motivate and inspire the masses.

From Benjamin Franklin to Martin Luther King Jr. to Bill Clinton, great leaders are first and foremost great communicators all of whom are masters of the five following speaking tips.

1. Um, drop verbal crutches

These crutches are most pronounced during pauses that occur while delivering a speech or presentation. They can come in the form of unintelligible sub-vocalizations such as "um" and "er" which awkwardly fill the silence, or as a subconscious habitual cough, lip-licking or overused hand gesture. They can also manifest as any number of verbal ticks which can be distracting and ultimately undermine your credibility (think phrases such as "you know," "like," "frankly," or "to be honest"). The problem is that few of us recognize our own dependence on these crutches.

The quickest cure for this is to record yourself using a smartphone app speaking extemporaneously for a minute or two on any topic. Then, listen back and count how many of these crutches you use. This simple exercise will help you be more conscious when you speak.

Related: For Better Conversations, Replace 'How Are You?' With This One Phrase

2. Keep going despite verbal miscues

If you slip up or stumble over words while delivering a presentation or speech, don't stop and apologize. Keep going as if nothing happened. Most people don't even notice those types of verbal flubs until the speaker draws unnecessary attention to it by stopping and apologizing for the misstep.

Not only is that disconcerting to the speaker, it's disconcerting to the audience as well.

3. Avoid introductory qualifiers

These are those wishy-washy throwaway phrases that we work into our speech to be polite or build consensus -- phrases such as "perhaps," "kind of," "hopefully" or any other mealy derivative of the same. Such limp words will only weaken you and your status as a leader.

Related: 8 Writing Strategies for People Who Say They Can't Write

4. End sentences cleanly

Too often, people make great points but they keep going to the point where they talk themselves into a corner and don't know how to end the conversation.

So they tag on a throwaway phrase that adds nothing to the discussion. Examples of these types of sluggish nomenclature include "and what not," "things like that," and "you know what I'm saying."

These lazy linguistic lapses should be avoided at all costs.

5. One thought per sentence

This last tip will help eliminate most of the aforementioned issues. When we isolate one concept per sentence, verbal pauses between sentences can become powerful attention grabbers with no room for crutches. There's also less chance for a verbal mix-up if each sentence is a single, crisp idea. Plus, a punchy concept blasts through paltry qualifiers and sentence tagalongs.

Related: These 4 Phrases Are Sure Signs Your Team Isn't at Peak Productivity

Tor Constantino

Former Journalist, Current PR Guy (wielding an MBA)

Tor Constantino is a former journalist, consultant and current corporate comms executive with an MBA degree and 25+ years of experience. His writing has appeared across the web on Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fortune and Yahoo!. Tor's views are his own and do not reflect those of his current employer.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Starting a Business

Starting From Scratch

Here's what you need to know before you launch your big-time food product.

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.