These 7 Common Speaking Habits Undercut Your Credibility

THESE SIMPLE BEHAVIORS ARE EASY TO FALL INTO WHEN YOU’RE NERVOUS, BUT THEY CAN MAKE LISTENERS THINK TWICE ABOUT TAKING YOU SERIOUSLY.
BY ANETT GRANT

Every speaker needs to be credible. If your audience spends the duration of your talk mulling over whether or not to take you seriously, you can kiss goodbye to any chance of your message resonating. Sometimes your credibility has as much to do with your behavior as it does with the message itself. Here are a few common bad habits to watch out for.

1. Oversmiling

Speakers are frequently coached to smile, but many overdo it. Rather than smiling continuously, just smile spontaneously–as a natural reaction to a certain part of your message or based on audience feedback. You can’t have a smile pasted onto your face continuously, which makes you look wooden, like a Barbie or Ken doll. Oversmiling comes across as fake, definitely costing you credibility points.

2. Too Much Energy

Every speaker needs to show a level of ease in their delivery. Talking fast, gesturing quickly, any jerky movements–these behaviors project anxiety rather than enthusiasm. They make your energy seem too sharp, like a jackhammer. You might be worried about punching things up a bit to avoid putting your listeners to sleep, but it’s possible to go overboard. With too much energy, you’ll come across as talking at your audience instead of to your audience.

3. Winking

Whenever you wink, you’re sending a “Get it?” message. It invites your audience to hunt for some sort of unspoken meaning, which introduces ambiguity you probably don’t want. You might think that winking once or twice at a key moment helps makes you seem clever or intriguing, like some kind of impresario, but in most professional settings it costs you credibility points by suggesting that you’re not being clear or transparent.

4. Rapid Pacing

Don’t pace continuously back and forth. If you keep moving while you speak you’ll drive your audience to distraction. They’ll start to focus less on what you’re saying than on watching you move. One principle I learned as a theater director was to avoid having actors walking and talking at the same time, unless they’re saying throwaway lines. As a speaker, you don’t necessarily need to stay perfectly still, but pacing too much suggests that everything you’re saying is essentially a throwaway line. Listeners will miss your key points and begin to doubt your credibility.

5. Fidgeting

You already know not to fidget, but it’s sometimes hard to avoid making small adjustments when you speak–especially when you’re nervous. Fiddling with your hair, your jewelry, or your clothes may help you feel more comfortable, but they make you look uncomfortable, and the audience wonders why you’re so jittery. They’ll see a disconnect between what you’re saying and what you’re showing them–they feel the anxiety you’re feeling.

6. Stoic Delivery

While being too energetic can be a credibility killer, not being energetic enough can do much the same. Reining it in and appearing too stoic can leave you to come across as mechanical–or worse, you seem like you’re hiding something. You might think you need to project an air of seriousness in order to be taken seriously. But if you go too far, you’ll end up looking like an android instead.

7. Apologizing Too Much

“Sorry for taking up your time.” “I apologize if this seems basic.” “I’m not the expert here, but…” These types of phrases immediately undermine your authority. While humility can be valuable, excessive apologizing signals to your audience that maybe they shouldn’t take you seriously.

If you’ve made a genuine mistake during your presentation, acknowledge it briefly and move on. But don’t preemptively apologize for things that don’t warrant an apology. Your audience chose to attend your talk–they want to hear what you have to say. Own it.

The key to credibility isn’t perfection–it’s authenticity combined with confidence. Be aware of these habits, work to eliminate them, and focus on connecting genuinely with your audience. When you present yourself as someone worth listening to, your audience will believe it.