Drill step 3
Note one thing to fix. Film it once more. Then say it in Speak to get your first numbers: pace, ums and hedges. They’re kept in Me for Day 28.
Glossary
Hedges
Softening words like “just”, “maybe”, “sort of”, “I think”. A few are fine; lots make you sound unsure of your own point.
From the lesson
The point
Authority in a room isn’t a title. It’s a speaking pattern: conclusion first, few words, no hedging. In one study, people asking to jump the queue to copy a few pages were let through far more often when they gave a reason, even a meaningless one.
Conclusion first
Authority is mostly a speaking pattern, and the pattern is: conclusion first, few words, no hedging. Consultants learn it as the pyramid: give the answer, then the reasons, then the detail. Most people do the reverse. They narrate their thinking and arrive at the point after everyone has stopped listening.
Hedges are the leak
Hedges are the leak. “I just think maybe we could sort of…” is four apologies before the idea. Cut them, then say the sentence slower. Authority is one of the classic principles of influence, but the authority that works in a room is not a title. It is the person who says the clear thing and then stops talking.
Where it is taught
- Day 11 · The Authority Effect: How to speak with authority: conclusion first, one reason, no hedging
Where it comes up
- Day 1 · The 100-Millisecond Verdict: How to make a good first impression at work
- Day 5 · The Voice People Lean Into: How to sound more confident when you speak: pace, pauses, and landing sentences
- Day 7 · Week 1 Review: Week 1 review: measure your speaking pace and fillers
- Day 14 · Week 2 Review: Week 2 review: hedges and fillers
- Day 18 · Influence Without Pushing: How to ask for something so people say yes: the four-sentence ask
- Day 21 · Week 3 Review: Week 3 review: record your best story
- Day 26 · Your Practice Plan: How to keep improving your speaking: a ten-minute weekly loop
- Day 28 · Compare the Tape: Day 28: compare your Day 1 and Day 28 recordings
In practice
Examples from the course that use it.
Then into Speak
You pick the one fix, film it again, then open Speak and say the same lines. The numbers come back: 172 words a minute, three ums, two hedges. You screenshot them. On Day 28 you will want to see this.
At your desk
You open Speak at your desk after everyone has gone. Sixty seconds on what you do. 171 words a minute, four fillers, two hedges. You save it. On Day 7 you will have something to compare.
Looking at the chart in Me
Two dots on the chart. Pace down from 171 to 155. Fillers down from four to two. Hedges the same. You screenshot it and send it to nobody. It is for you.
Related terms
- PaceHow fast you speak, in words per minute. Around 140 to 160 is easy to follow; slow down for the key points.
- FillersSounds that fill a gap while you think: um, uh, like, you know. Try a short pause instead. Speak shows them as ums.
- PausesSilences of a second or more while you talk. Deliberate pauses sound composed; very long ones can sound like you have lost your place.
- Two sighsTwo physiological sighs: a big breath in through the nose, a short top-up sniff, then a long, slow breath out through the mouth. Do it twice. It can help you settle.
- Follow-up questionA question about what the person just told you. It proves you listened and keeps them talking.