Change continues

Several years back I mentored a young man. He had great potential and took over for me when I took another position within the company. We keep in touch from time to time. I received an email from him him earlier in the week and gave him a call and discovered he had since changed companies and was not real happy in the new position.

Even though it was several years since we spoke there was one trait that came out within seconds. He finishes every sentence with, "and everything." He is very intelligent, yet speaks with little confidence.

There are other common speech destroyers such as using "like" over and over again. Using the phrase,"you know what I mean" at the end of each sentence. Injecting Umm's and Ahh's. The list goes on...

When communicating verbally it is vital to speak with confidence. Practice in front of a camera and view the tape. Count how many Umm's and how many pauses you have.

There are no substitutes for solid communication skills. None.