Another Sentence To Banish From Your Presentations
I often work with presenters who lack energy during their first practice speech. When we watch their videos back together, most people see for themselves that they fell a bit flat. Then we discuss how to fix the problem.
We discuss what parts of their presentation they feel truly excited about—then we look for ways for that passion to shine through in a manner that feels genuine to the speaker. Looking for the thing behind the thing (read more about that here) often unleashes their passion.
But then a curious thing happens during the next practice round.
When the trainees get up to deliver their second practice speech, I often hear them insert a new sentence they didn’t utter during the first round:
“I’m really excited to be here.”
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that sentence (or its equivalents), but I’ve concluded that speakers shouldn’t use it. Why? Because I’d prefer they show their enthusiasm through their delivery, not tell people they’re excited through their words.
Trying to seem more excited simply by saying those words usually doesn’t work. It’s an ineffective fixative, since the line too often comes across without the enthusiasm the line demands. As a result, it typically comes across as forced.
Plus, telling people “I’m excited!” feels like the equivalent of an actor breaking character to tell the audience, “This next scene is going to be awesome!” The actor would never do that, of course—a great scene doesn’t require such an announcement. Neither does a great presentation.
Like the blog? Read the book! The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview is available in paperback, for Kindle, and iPad.
Share this article
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Twitter
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Email
I think the other reason not to say this in a presentation is because it’s all about the speaker. As an audience member, I would hope they’d be excited, but it’s not really relevant to me. Hopefully I’m excited to be there as an audience member, and I won’t regret the choice I’ve made to attend the speech/presentation. This falls into the same category as the up-front apology for being sick, i.e. “Sorry if my voice is a bit scratchy–I’ve got a cold.” As an audience member, I don’t care. You asked me to be here, you promised to talk about something I’m interested in, so get started, and “wow” me. Your problems–or excitement–is not my concern. Maybe a bit harsh, but I feel as if that’s the truth.
Art,
Thanks for your comment; I don’t think it’s harsh at all. You make a great point that I neglected to: that audience-focused speakers are more concerned about their audience’s feelings than their own.
I’m not 100 percent opposed to someone sharing their excitement as part of an anecdote, for example, but it should be a tool that’s deployed much less than it is. During our trainings, it’s clear that people are using the words as a replacement for exhibiting actual excitement, and that disconnect comes across to the audience.
Thanks for making that great point!
Brad
So many speaker use the line, “I’m really excited to be here” with no excitement in their voice whatsoever, that no matter how genuinely you say it, it is going to sound insincere. Maybe later in the speech, once you’ve made your main point, you could say, “So, I’m really excited to be here, because you are the people who can make this happen,….”
Brad, I agree with Art and your comment, but Art has fallen for a word-thought slip very prevalent in society today: He “feels” that’s the truth. Is that what he thinks or is that how he feels?
Brad, could you address this issue when giving a speech or other presentation? Am I just being contrarian? Given its prevalent usage, I doubt many audience members would recognize or make the distinction. But I have seen speakers use the “feel” word to evade a question. E.g., “Why did you do that after explaining to the others why no one should ever do that?” “Under the circumstances, I didn’t feel it was wrong.”
It drives me crazy! How do you FEEL about it, Brad?
Hi Pat,
My general preference is that people use stronger language in most public speaking settings. That means that where the facts are available to back up their claims, I prefer that people say what they know, not what they think, believe, or feel.
“I think” and “I believe” are hedge phrases. They usually hedge either the speaker’s lack of certainty or the lack of certainty inherent in the topic itself. I’m less certain about “I feel,” as it can be either a hedge or declarative statement (e.g. “I feel strongly that this project is the wrong project at the wrong time.”).
Curious how other readers feel about this topic. Readers?
Thanks,
Brad