Speak with Confidence

Chapter 13Rambling‐Reduction Systems

In Speak with No Fear, I talk about an announcement for a service project that I gave to my university's student body. Nerves completely took over, and my short speech turned into senseless rambling. I was saying nothing and using a lot of words to do it. The president gently interrupted me and thanked me for sharing, then briefly summarized the key information. Thanks to him, the turnout was better than it should have been, but my confidence took a hit, and it was a while until I wanted to speak in front of a group again.

Everyone rambles. Sometimes, it's caused by nerves as happened to me. Sometimes, it's a lack of planning. Sometimes, it's because we feel we have so much to say. And sometimes, it's because we like hearing ourselves speak. Whatever the cause, a rambling speech is not a confident speech. Even if the speaker feels confident, rambling does not sound or appear that way. It creates an image that's the opposite of what you want.

A rambling speech is not a confident speech.

Many people treat rambling as a personal quirk instead of the serious issue that it is. That's why I'm building a case against it. Change is hard, and we'll seldom change unless we see a pressing need. At this point, some may try to defend it as a communication style. After all, what about Peter Falk's Columbo, a fictional character I grew up watching, who used rambling to solve every case? Yes, professional communicators can strategically use rambling in ...