The Shit Girls Say meme blew up because all of us vaguely recognize the college-age woman who says those things. The meme is also highly annoying because it implies “girls” are airheads.
I prefer a more constructive commentary on female speaking habits, which is why I loved a recent podcast interview with Tara Mohr, a women’s leadership expert. Mohr describes little ways in which women unconsciously discount or minimize what they have to say, by overusing words like “just” and “actually,” making declarative statements sound like questions, and by talking too quickly to avoid interruption.
I excerpted the best 8 minutes of Mohr’s interview from the original 50-minute episode of the Jillian Michaels podcast and embedded it here for quick listening. The interview is now on YouTube, and every woman should hear it.
The bit is essentially a summary of Mohr’s article, Public Speaking Tips For Women. But I found the audio version to be very effective because you can hear examples of pitfalls to avoid. Now, I’m off to banish “Does that make sense?” from my conversational habits.
Update: Related bit on speaking with authority:
