Talk like a pro, not a dock worker

How do you sound in your pitch meetings?

Is there a bounce in your voice? Or do you catch yourself droning on?

Unconsciously or not, your customer judges you every time you open your mouth. They think, "Do I trust this person? …or is this just another chump trying to close me?"

You don’t need the vocabulary of an English professor to earn buyer trust.

However, you can kill all hope of being taken seriously by buyers if you talk like you talk to your buddy who works on a dock. (With due respect to those hard workers.)

Immediately, post the following speech best practices to your laptop; then, activate them:

1. No swearing…ever. Not even at the ballgame. Don’t say "ass" unless you are referring to donkeys.

2. Eliminate the "ummms," "ya knows," "wait-whats," and other colloquialisms that may slip from your mouth. They’re lazy.

3. S L O W D O W N. Enunciate.

4. Moderate your voice…your audience will stay attentive if you sound interesting.

5. Never interrupt. It’s rude.

As Jerry Seinfeld jokes in this Short, public speaking intimidates pretty much everyone.

If you need to do the Toastmasters thing for a few months, then do it.

If you need to practice presentation skills with a peer once a week…do it.

Your voice and how you talk are weapons that can distinguish you…or not.