Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”¹ In impromptu speaking we may struggle to find the right word but land instead on the almost right word or even the wrong word—followed by apologizing, self‐correcting, or rephrasing. The dilemma is that we're selecting our words on the spot—without time to think, edit, rewrite, or polish as we can in scripted speaking. The words tumble out of our mouths as we focus on the ideas we're trying to formulate.

To strengthen your impromptu language, keep the following four C's in mind: be Clear, Conversational, Confident, and Collaborative.

Be Clear

Abraham Lincoln, an inspiring speaker—greatly valued clarity. He remarked: “When a mere child, I used to get irritated when anybody talked to me in a way I could not understand. I don't think I ever got angry at anything else in my life. But that always disturbed my temper and has ever since.”² Audiences expect that same clarity from you. Yet it's not always easy to achieve clarity in the moment. Here are some things to keep in mind to achieve it.

Think clearly. Unclear language comes from unclear thinking. Too often words roll off the tongue yet they don't present a clear idea. Take this example: A corporate spokesperson in a Q&A with investors states, “What is interesting is that, as a technology company, we do believe in community involvement and so we believe in education and training programs and building capacity in the communities we are active in.” In plain English, what does this mean? Too many generalities. Better to be specific: “We are committed to supporting our communities. This past year we helped ten schools set up ‘Girls Who Code’ programs.”

Prune your prose. Take a mental cutting board and slice off extra words.

• Say “We'll focus on,” instead of “What we are going to do is focus on.”
• Say “We should consider,” instead of “I think we should be considering.”
• Say “I suggest,” rather than “If possible I'd like to put forward the suggestion.”
• Say “To Stephanie's point,” rather than “It seems to me that there may be something here to consider, something Stephanie said.”

Junk the jargon. Speak plainly!

• Delete phrases like “Transform our educational knowledge set” and replace with the more familiar “learn.”
• Delete words like commoditize, optimize, operationalize, utilize, or anything that ends in ‐ize or ‐ized.
• Delete expressions like “paradigm” or “on my radar screen” that have no clear definition.

See Bart Egnal's book, Leading Through Language, for a far‐ranging discussion of the perils of jargon and how to avoid them.³

Be Conversational

Impromptu language should be conversational—marked by the simplicity we use in everyday conversation. Here's the difference between office talk and home talk. A leader at work might say: “Off the top of my head what I'm going to talk to you about is a little bit of the year in review.” A leader at home might say, “Let's look at the past year.” Being conversational means you use language in the workplace that you'd use outside of work.

Here's how to get rid of office speak and sound more conversational:

Use short words. Winston Churchill said, “Broadly speaking, short words are best, and the old words, when short, are best of all.”⁴ So don't use “however” if you can use “but.” Don't use “in order to” if you can say “to.” Don't say “prioritize” when you can say “choose.”

Shorten sentences. Your audience can understand shorter sentences better than longer sentences. That's why we naturally speak in shorter sentences in our daily lives. The following before‐and‐after example shows how conversational a senior manager sounds when she forgoes long sentences. When asked why leading her new team would build upon her strengths, she replies:

Before: “My strengths are coaching and relationship building, and the team that I have inherited is a very good team, and with my coaching skills in this relationship‐building area it will be very successful in this sector.”

After: “My strengths are in coaching and relationship‐building. I've inherited a team that's awfully good. But it needs to build stronger customer ties. I know that together we'll reach that goal.”

The revised passage is easier for the audience to absorb (as it consists of sentences that average eight words, compared to the “before” sentence that has thirty‐seven words).

Don't be too casual. Be conversational, but be professional. Avoid “yeah,” “yup,” “nope,” “gotta,” “you guys,” “stuff,” “hey,” and “whatever!” Use these words with your friends, but such words can sound too relaxed when you're addressing a boss or colleague.

Be Confident

When speaking off the cuff, project confidence in the following ways.

Speak with conviction. Use phrases like “I believe,” “I'm convinced,” “I've thought a lot about….” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz uses such language when he says, “Starbucks' best days, I truly believe, are in front of us…. I believe sincerely in the future of our company because I believe in all of you.”⁵

Filter out the filler. Avoid words like “um…ah…yeah…well…like…you know…to be honest” or any combination of these. They'll make you sound hesitant and unsure. For example, if someone says, “I think, uh, we should, like, hire that person” you might wonder if the speaker is really keen on that prospective employee.

Shun weak words. Watch out for the following anemic language.

• Mincing modifiers such as “I'd just like to say something,” or “I'm a little bit concerned.” Or “it's only a thought, but maybe we should.”
• Tentative verbs like “I think we should move forward with this project,” or “I'm guessing,” or “I'll try to,” or “I'll see if I can.” A manager who says “I think we can proceed, and I'll try to get the budget” won't inspire confidence.
• Past tense instead of present. Saying, “I wanted to bring up the fact that,” or “I thought we should delay the decision” sounds like you no longer believe what you're saying.
• Expressions of self‐doubt. For example, “Okay?” or “Right?” or “You know?” at the end of sentences make you sound unsure.
• Excuses and defensive language. For example, “I only came onto this project two weeks ago,” or “It wasn't my fault,” or “I've tried my best.”
• Clichés. These include empty expressions such as the following: “Business is business,” “It is what it is,” “What will be will be,” “Time will tell,” and “The customer says ‘jump’ and we jump.”

Watch wiggle words. The most common wiggle words are perhaps, probably, possibly, basically, largely, hopefully, sort of, or quite. In providing a hedge these make you sound less than confident. If you say “hopefully we will find a solution,” your listener may not believe you.

Cut the caveats. Common ones (often appearing at the beginning of a sentence) are: “I could be wrong,” “It's just a thought,” “It's only a suggestion,” “This might sound far‐fetched,” “Don't get me wrong,” “This may be a silly question,” “That's only my opinion.” Suppose a leader says to a team member, “This might sound foolish, but you could make more productive use of your time.” The caveat weakens the sentence.

Be Collaborative

Many of the best conversations in any organization are collaborative. As American Express CEO Ken Chenault says, “It's not just about being nice. A good teammate says ‘Here's what I'm going to do to help you to improve.’ It's about putting the team ahead of individual egos.”⁶ Here are steps that will help you come across as more collaborative.

Limit the language of “ego.” Words that can smack of egotism if overused, such as “I,” “me,” or “my,” should be used sparingly. A managing director of finance said to me: “When we talk about employees coming up for promotion, the candidate should be confident but not arrogant. Arrogance comes across when someone uses a lot of ‘I did this’ or ‘I want that.’ I look for people who say ‘we did’ or ‘our team did.’” Of course you can say, “I am proud that our team showed such dedication.” Or if someone asks, “Did you design the campaign?” you can reply, “I had a role in the design, but it was a real group effort and we're excited about the outcome.” In short, you don't have to disappear from the spotlight entirely, but don't feel you have to put yourself front and center.

Nix the negatives. Collaborative language builds relationships, and is therefore positive. Avoid “I can't” or “I won't,” as in “I can't get the budget for this project,” or “I won't be able to make the meeting.” If you cannot attend a meeting, simply say, “I'd love to participate, but I have other plans.” Also, avoid expressions that contain “not,” as in “I will not be attending” or “I'm not available.” If you're not available say, “Can you come back in a half hour?” If you don't have an answer, don't say, “I don't know.” Say, “I'll find out.”

Finally, avoid the word “no,” as in phrases like “no way!” and “no problem.” Think of it this way: no problem is a double negative, and two negatives don't make a positive. So if someone asks you to complete a task, don't say “no problem.” Say, “Yes of course,” or “I'd be glad to.” Suppose your boss says, “Don't you love our new corporate logo?” (And you don't!), instead of saying “No,” or lying, find a positive response: “I like its color” or “It's very edgy.”

Focus on common goals. Favor expressions such as “This strategy needs to work for all of us,” and “Let's look at how we together can create this program.” You might ask your direct reports, “What can I do to assist?” Rally the troops with words like the following: “It's great to have all of you here. Our dialogue over the next few days will help us develop a clear and shared understanding of just who we are and what our goals are.” Such language fosters the commitment of all team members.

Encourage diverse viewpoints. Use language that encourages people to speak up and share disparate views. It's important that you come across as considering everyone's opinion so you can collectively come to the right decision. A collaborative leader might say: “I've called this meeting so we can come up with a plan for improving employee engagement. I want input from all of you. No matter what your proposal is, large or small—I want to hear it, and we will respectfully respond.” Make sure everyone at the table expresses their views. Call on people if they don't volunteer. They may be waiting for an invitation.

Recognize other people. Whether you're in a one‐on‐one conversation or a group discussion, show your audience that they mean a lot to you. Take time to open with a warm, effusive “How are you?” During the conversation applaud your listeners for their input. Say “I agree with you,” or “That's a great point,” or “Awesome!” In a meeting bring energy to the exchange by saying, “We've got a lot of excellent perspectives here” or “I'm loving this discussion.” Reinforce what others say. (“I like your idea about bringing other teams into the project.”) Draw out individuals you know have something to offer. (“What's your view on this, Theo?”) This is not just building people up for the sake of it; it shows your genuine conviction about building collaborative solutions.

Language is a powerful tool for engaging and inspiring people. Use it effectively in your spontaneous exchanges. Recognize the importance of the “Four C's.” Be Clear, Conversational, Confident, and Collaborative. Internalize these principles so when you are speaking in the moment your language is powerful.