Communication Clarity Killers

In business these days, I hear people using terms like "synergy", "deep dive", "touchpoint" and "ecosystem". Many of these people are just trying to sound smarter. Some don't even know what those words mean.

They would likely end up sounding much smarter by stopping their use what I call communication clarity killers.

Keynoting

I did the keynote presentation to the New Realtors Dinner for the Realtors Association of Edmonton last Wednesday night. It’s always great to work with people who want to advance their careers and, in this case, I was talking about ways for them to become better communicators.

 When I watch people speak on television or listen to them on the radio, I observe the way they speak, the words they use and how they say things. I listen for more than just trying to understand what they're saying. As I listen, I analyze the way they're saying things and the words they use.

It's a strange thing to do, but it’s part of my job. When I speak to groups in public like I did last week, I’m paid to demonstrate to people how they can say things better to make them stronger communicators.

I’ve written a number of blogs about that over the years (you can check them out by clicking on a blog to the right) and I’m now starting to realize how extra words and phrases can take away from the clarity of what people are saying. That’s why I call them communication clarity killers.

When people communicate, clarity is important. After all, if people have a difficult time understanding what we’re saying, they why bother saying it?

For years I’ve pointed out how people use extra words and short phrases that aren’t necessary, but now I’m realizing they can actually detract from what they're trying to say.

Of course, I talked about how people can become better communicators during the keynote, by putting the other person first, listening to what they have to say and asking great questions. But I did spend some time on clarity killers because more people than ever are making this mistake.

The Clarity Killers

The biggest clarity killers today include “kind of”, “sort of” and “a little bit.”

When I listen to people speak using these phrases I delete the phrase from what they’ve just said and their message always becomes clearer.

Here are a few examples:

I kind of think the team has been struggling on the power play.

I think the team has been struggling on the power play.

The changes made by the NDP have sorted of killed their chances.

The changes made by the NDP have killed their chances.

The markets have slumped a little bit this week because of tariffs.

The markets have slumped this week because of tariffs.

I see and hear these phrases sneaking into more and more conversations. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s because people are afraid to make clear statements and want to couch their words?

I hear it all the time from sports commentators who want to say something negative about the problems the local team is going through, but don’t want to seem overly critical. “Kind of” and “ a little bit” allows them to make their point without being overly critical.

Why not just say what you think? That’s what you’re paid for. If a team isn’t playing well just say it.

Fewer Words = Greater Clarity

I also hear people start statements with words that aren’t necessary. I often hear people on TV in discussions starting their sentence with ‘I mean” and then going on to make their point. “I mean” is useless. Once again, make your statement as concisely as possible. We know you “mean it” when you say it.

Watch two media people talk on television, or listen to news or sports interviews. Count the number of times people will start responses with the word “yeah.” It has become an epidemic, especially during sports interviews. Jocks can’t help but start their response with the word “yeah” for no reason.

My favourite is “Yeah, no….”

I continually hear people make statements that include “every single day.” The word “single” adds nothing. I often would like to ask these people why they don’t say “every double day?”

Far too many people like to add needless words without stopping to think they add nothing to what they’re saying. I hear traffic reporters tell their audiences “Traffic going northbound is blocked off in the right-hand lane.”  They should be saying “Traffic going north is blocked in the right lane.”

Fewer words = greater clarity.

I’m also not sure where words that have sat around for years not being used suddenly become in vogue. A few years ago, I started hearing people use the word “oftentimes.” It’s another way of saying frequently, but why don’t we just keep using the word “often”? It hasn’t gone anywhere. A decade ago I never heard oftentimes. Now it’s all over the place. Why?

The effects of media and sound media are obviously huge factors in the way people talk today. Monkey see monkey do. However, people need to check their use of the English language and find ways to speak with more clarity. Less is often more.

Many years ago, when I was a young radio newsman working at a station in Edmonton, I was doing an aircheck session with my boss and mentor the late Ed Mason. Ed reached over and paused the cassette recorder that had my newscast on it. I wasn’t sure what I had done wrong. I remember him telling me I didn’t need to say “whether or not” because in most cases “whether” does the job by itself. I remember looking at Ed blankly and then suddenly realizing he was right.

Eddie, if I’ve said whether or not since, I sure didn’t mean to.