As anyone who has done a lot of public speaking, or taught public speaking (as I have) knows, saying the word “right” after making a statement is not what you want to do. (At least, speakers used to know that.)
Why? Because when you say the word “right” after a statement, you are saying it with a question mark behind it. You are basically telling your audience; “I am not sure of what I am telling you, so I am asking you the question — am I right?”
That’s right, you are subconsciously telling your listening audience that you are not sure what you are saying, and in their minds, you are asking them if it sounds right to them?
So, why do speakers sprinkle their public presentations and interviews with the word “right” over and over again? Because they think it is trendy. They hear other speakers say it and think it is the cool thing to do during a presentation, an education session or an interview. It never occurs to them that it leaves the audience with the subconscious perception that the speaker wasn’t too sure about what they were saying.
This can be a problem when the speaker is viewed as an authoritative source for the information they are speaking about. It undermines their credibility and leaves their listeners with a reduced certainty that the speaker was sure about their subject matter and the veracity of their presentation. It undercuts their effectiveness, while they are completely unaware that they are sabotaging their own credibility and what their audience may gain from their presentation. Am I right?
See, those three words call into question my familiarity with this topic. They mean the same thing as just asking “right.” The question then becomes; is it more valuable to be trendy or is it more important to sound like you are confident in the subject you are discussing?
Repeated use of the word “right” in the form of a question is not self-serving in any regard. For many of those listening to a presentation or interview, it becomes an irritation. By eliminating the use of the word “right” in interviews or public presentations, you bolster your audience’s confidence that you actually are right.
