Stop the Apology Speak
Shira Miller |
TEDxBayRidgeWomen
• December 2019
Have you ever sabotaged yourself professionally or personally by apologizing for no reason? Women especially say they are sorry when they haven’t done anything wrong; no wonder a study at the University of Waterloo in Canada found that females apologize more frequently than men. It can be easy to slip into that habit of apology speak, which is what Shira Miller calls it, in order to diffuse tension or avoid being disliked. But there is a steep price to pay. When you constantly over-apologize or make self-deprecating comments to hide your awesomeness, it diminishes the value of your ideas and accomplishments in every part of your life. This talk presents four ways to break the cycle of unnecessary apology speak, helping people of any gender who over-apologize gain more confidence, credibility, well-being and influence.