When Not to Speak Up
Speaking Professionally
Upspeak, the tendency of a voice to inflect up at the end of a sentence, can be disastrous to young professionals seeking to establish they have a firm grasp of facts or concepts. Upspeak transforms a statement into a question. It conveys uncertainty. Listeners complain that it detracts from the ultimate message.
When working with young professionals, I suggest they model the speech patterns of television anchormen and women (or pretend ones like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert). That requires they know and understand the content they are about to deliver. And when they do speak, they make definitive statements that end with a period instead of a question mark.
As with space fillers, the easiest way to determine whether upspeak has invaded your speech involves either working with a colleague to audit your speech or recording yourself as you speak. Once you hear your voice inflect up, you’ll know it hampers your authority. With a small amount of conscious thought you’ll be able to eliminate it.
Of course, there may be times when you consciously wish to allow a little upspeak into your conversations. When you aren’t certain about a fact, end your sentence with a question mark. Similarly, when you wish to build consensus, adopting a less definitive speech pattern may help.
However, when you are starting work as an intern, summer associate or new hire, concentrate on speaking in a manner that communicates you are intelligent, knowledgeable and quite certain of the statements you make.
What Do You Need to Know?
Unless you're asking a question, don't allow you're voice to inflect up at the end of a statement, which makes you sound uncertain.
comments powered by Disqus
