For years, I had good ideas that went nowhere. I'd contribute in meetings and people would nod politely, then ignore what I said. Two minutes later, someone else would say the exact same thing and everyone would act like it was genius.

The problem wasn't my ideas. It was my delivery.

Here's what I learned to make people respect and listen to what I say:

1. Stop prefacing everything with apologies. "Sorry to interrupt, but..." "This might be stupid, but..." "I'm probably wrong, but..." Every qualifier you add tells people to dismiss what comes next. Just state your point. If it needs an apology, don't say it.

2. End sentences with periods, not question marks. "We should launch in October?" sounds like you're asking permission. "We should launch in October." sounds like a recommendation. Your voice going up at the end makes statements sound uncertain. Keep your tone flat or slightly down.

3. Replace weak words with strong ones. "I feel like maybe..." → "I think..." "We could possibly..." → "We should..." "It might be good to..." → "The best approach is..." Every weak word chips away at your credibility. Own your statements.

4. Pause instead of using filler words. "Um," "like," and "you know" make you sound unprepared. Train yourself to just pause when you need to think. Silence feels awkward to you, but it sounds confident to them. The pause makes people lean in.

5. Say less, mean more. The person who talks the most rarely has the most influence. Make your point in three sentences or less, then stop. Rambling makes people tune out. Brevity makes them remember.

6. Don't explain unless asked. State your position once, clearly. If they want more information, they'll ask. Over-explaining makes you sound defensive or uncertain about your own point.

7. Make statements, not suggestions. "What if we tried..." sounds tentative. "Here's what I recommend..." sounds authoritative. Even when you're proposing something, frame it as a direction rather than a possibility.

8. Control your pacing. Nervous people speed up. Confident people slow down. If you catch yourself rushing through words, deliberately add pauses between sentences. It forces people to pay attention instead of letting your words blur together.

All of this comes down to speaking like your words have value. When you apologize for your thoughts, qualify every statement, and fill space with nervous chatter, you're training people to dismiss you.

People respect communicators who respect their own message. If you don't sound like you believe what you're saying, why would anyone else?

Stop apologizing before sharing ideas. That alone will shift how people respond to you.

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