Antoni Lee’s blog

Robert Louis Stevenson said that when we know all a person’s adjectives, we have all his or her treasures.

In a media interview, speech or presentation, when a person overuses a word we accept that it’s out of habit and we bear with it. Perhaps he or she loves the word, ‘awesome,’ or ‘absolutely,’ and peppers the conversation with one of those words. When it goes on and on, we tune its meaning out. Overusing a word or phrase dilutes its power.

In another category of favourites, some words sound good when spoken. Words like absquatulate, crepuscular and sesquipedalian tumble nicely out of the mouth. Unfortunately when they land on people’s ears, the results may not be what we anticipated.

I’m all for music in language, but unless you’re William Faulkner, using obscure or overly long words can be a bad idea:

1. It can look like showing off.
2. It can embarrass people when they don’t know what one of your words means.
3. It makes of a fool of the speaker or writer who rushes in and misuses words.
4. It can be a long-winded, woolly, unnecessary substitute for a short, clear word.

Some rules of thumb:

1. Use words that express rather than impress.
2. Don’t use a word just because it sounds good. Use words in palette and context.
3. Use adjectives for specificity, not emphasis.
4. Don’t overuse a word or phrase. Repetition works best when it’s intentional and well-placed.

Many writers have useful things to say on this topic, including George Orwell, Mark Twain, William Zinsser and Sol Stein.

Trainees sometimes tell me, “I’ve seen several media spokespeople use um and ah and it helps them sound natural, and less canned.”

While this may seem true to some, in public communication, expletives like: um, ah, er, well, like, sort of, kind of and you know are not worth the time it takes to say them. And like weeds, if not checked, words that add no content (or other) value tend toward infestation, as in the following Caroline Kennedy recent interview:

In a news grab, every syllable counts, and in presentations, weedy expletives become distracting and annoying. Say something meaningful and intelligent instead. You will still sound natural, as well as crisp and professional, when you cull expletives.

Want more info? Enquire about a Redact training program.

After graduating at age sixteen from the Webber-Douglas drama school in Kensington, Brenda debuted in Noel Coward’s Private Lives. In following years she performed in West End theatres including the Garrick, Adelphi and London Hippodrome. Arriving in Australia in the 1960s, Brenda continued performing live as a singer and comedienne, before adding television and radio acting and radio announcing and presenting to her repertoire.

Brenda’s radio interviews crossed the social spectrum, from politicians and writers to chefs and entertainers. Her interviewees have included writer Stephen Bogart (son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall), and Australian cultural treasures Margaret Fulton, Barry Crocker, Wayne Goss and June Daly Watkins.

I asked Brenda, “What makes a good interviewee?”

“Personality is very important, and you can hear it in the voice. It has to have animation, some kind of spark!”

“Are you saying that voice control is important for interviewees?”

“Voice production should be important to anyone who speaks in public. Politicians should have speech training. If you don’t know how to speak properly, that is, how to put your voice over when you have to speak for an hour or so, you’ll get hoarse and get laryngitis or something.

“Deep breathing is the key. Practice breathing in slowly, holding your breath and then letting it out slowly, all the way up to twenty or thirty seconds or so for each action. Lift up your rib cage. Make sure your throat is open. Too many people swallow their own voice and lessen the sound of their words.

“Speak up so that your voice carries. In Laurence Olivier’s day they didn’t have microphones, yet you could hear him at the back of the gods! But being loud is entirely different to projecting. Loud can be raucous and very unpleasant to the ear.”

Vocal production and a sense of drama can apply in short speeches, business introduction speeches…and more, without sacrificing professionalism. In fact, making a speech interesting and engaging enhances its professionalism.