How do you get someone’s attention? Do you whistle to them like a dog? Of course not! You say their name, hoping there is no one else with the same name around, knowing they will turn around to look at who is calling them.

The very first chapter of Dale Carnegie’s famous book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, tells the reader that to become a better communicator, you need not “criticize, condemn or complain”.

Whether speaking for a club or as a keynote speaker, you may find yourself behind a podium delivering a speech or presentation (or perhaps accepting an award… if so, go you!). When you finally find yourself behind a podium, there are plenty of common traps we all fall into and mistakes we inevitably make.

Filler word? What is that? To put it simply, it is our way of filling gaps between words or thoughts. If we don’t know what to say and we are trying to fill what would ordinarily be a pause in sound coming from our mouths while we think, we end up adding in a filler word.