Presentation Skills That Will Take You to the Top (Collection), 2/e

10. “Does that make sense?”

...And Other Meaningless Words

Language is alive, a dynamically evolving and changing entity.

One of the newest expressions to gain momentum in American speech is, “Does that make sense?” The phrase is most often used by a speaker in the middle of a conversation—or a presenter in the middle of a presentation—to check whether the listener or audience member has understood or appreciated what the speaker has just said. Unfortunately, the expression has three negative implications:

• Uncertainty on the part of the speaker about the accuracy or credibility of the content

• Doubt about the ability of the audience to comprehend or appreciate the content

• The word, “sense,” which, by its interrogative formation, implies ...