A Subtle Public Speaking Habit That Quietly Undermines Your Credibility

If you’re attending a business presentation this week, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter one of the most subtle habits in public speaking, a habit that quietly undermines a speaker’s credibility without them realising it.

You’ll still notice the familiar problems, of course: speakers turning their backs to the audience while reading every word from a slide overloaded with bullet points.

Presenters nervously tapping pens, clutching their notes, or swaying from side to side as if they’re standing on a boat. There’s also the classic: pointing to text so tiny they feel obliged to say, “You probably won’t be able to read this, so I’ll read it for you.”

Let’s not forget the monotonous voice, hands buried in pockets, hair pulling, and fidgeting.

All of these are common and easily fixable.

There’s another habit that’s become more common and much more distracting than most people anticipate.

The Habit You Hear Before You See

It’s the tendency to end a sentence as though it were a question.

You’ll recognise it instantly: a perfectly normal statement suddenly rises in pitch at the end, making a point that should seem confident but instead sounds tentative. It feels like a message that should land clearly arrives shrouded in uncertainty.

The speaker isn’t asking a question; they’re simply making a statement, but to the audience, it sounds as if they’re unsure of what they’ve just said.

Once or twice, it’s forgivable, but twenty minutes of it can be painful.

This habit has become so widespread that it even has a name: Uptalk.

Some say it began in Australia, while others insist it came from California. Wherever it started, it has become a global pattern in presenting and public speaking.

Unlike the common cold, which eventually goes away on its own, uptalk doesn’t leave you until you leave it.

The Cost of Uptalk

People who consistently raise their pitch at the end of a sentence are often perceived as uncertain, hesitant and lacking confidence. They may be intelligent, capable, and well-prepared, but the sound of their voice tells a different story and can be irritating to listen to.

The good news is that uptalk is not a speech impediment; it’s a learned habit, which means it can be unlearned.

With awareness, practice and a little courage, you can break it.

How to Stop Uptalking

Trust a friend

Ask a colleague, friend, or family member to alert you whenever you end a sentence with a question mark and have them repeat exactly how you said it. Then practise saying the same sentence again, this time with a grounded, downward finish.

Record yourself

Ask someone to record your next presentation and listen back with openness and objectivity, identifying where the uptalk appears. Write those sentences down, and practise delivering them with a steady, confident tone.

Pause and breathe

A short pause between sentences resets your voice and your mind.
Exaggerate the pauses during practice and allow your breath to settle before continuing.

Write them down

List the statements you often end with an upward inflection and read them aloud each day, paying attention to a calm, downward finish.

Take the fine

If you want to break the habit quickly and make it more enjoyable, set up a penalty system. Decide on a small amount of money that friends or colleagues can “fine” you each time you use uptalk, and at the end of the month, donate the collected money to charity.

You’ll be amazed at how fast the habit disappears when it starts costing you.

If You’d Like to Overcome This Subtle Public Speaking Habit

You don’t have to do it alone. With the right guidance, awareness, and practice, you can replace uptalk with a voice that sounds confident, grounded, and authoritative, even when you don’t feel that way yet.

– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.

– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.

– Get yourself some excellent presentation training

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