Speaking Skills Tip | Last week Todd Smart spoke about building credibility at Illinois Technology Association Marketing Roundtable. My favorite take-away: When you use conditional language in presenting yourself you lose credibility. Listener can sense your lack of confidence. Eg. “IF we get that result for you…” vs. “WHEN we get that result for you….”

Conditional language places limits or conditions on statements of fact, which helps the reader’s mind stay open to other ways of understanding the same facts when they appear in a novel context. Conditional terms include some, most, maybe, often, perhaps, likely, unlikely, typically, usually, possibly, one way of.1 Consider your “conditions” and how it affects your personal brand.

[Note: Clare Hefferren, of Callosum will be speaking at the October 2010 ITA Roundtable. To register, click here.]