How to Speak Confidently and Clearly Everyday

Strong communication is one of the most vital skills a manager can develop. Whether leading meetings, sharing updates, or giving feedback, the ability to speak clearly and confidently builds trust, enhances team performance, and supports better decision-making.

Communication expert Ruth Milligan shared her insights on how managers can improve their everyday speaking skills. Drawing from her experience coaching professionals and leaders across industries, as well as in-depth research, Ruth offered practical tools to help managers and their teams communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact.

Rather than focusing on high-stakes presentations, the conversation centered on the small, everyday moments where speaking habits take shape. From impromptu updates to project briefings, it’s these moments that form the foundation for effective leadership communication.

Spotting Habits in Everyday Interactions

It’s not uncommon to hear filler words like “um,” “so,” and “you know.” This poor speaking habit often develops unnoticed in low-pressure environments. Over time, these disfluencies can make their way into more formal settings, impacting how a speaker is perceived.

Meetings, daily check-ins, and internal presentations offer prime opportunities to observe our natural speaking habits. Someone might regularly go over their allotted time, use filler words excessively, or begin updates without a clear point. These aren't signs of incompetence, just signals that a little coaching could go a long way.

When you notice these patterns, offering gentle, timely feedback can make a real difference. The key is to be specific and supportive. For example, you might help a team member to slow down by suggesting they take deeper breaths between sentences. 

These small corrections, especially when caught early, help your team members grow into more confident communicators.

The Value of Listening to Yourself Speak

One of the most effective (and underused) tools for improving speaking skills is listening to yourself. 

Ruth acknowledges that, while it might feel uncomfortable, reviewing a recording of your own voice is an eye-opening way to spot unhelpful habits and areas for improvement.

You don’t need a big presentation to make this work. Even a voice memo from a casual conversation or a Zoom recording of a meeting can provide helpful insights. Are you speaking too quickly? Do your ideas come across clearly? Are you using filler words without realizing it?

There are also tech tools that offer feedback. Platforms like Microsoft Teams include speaker coaching features that highlight your pace, tone, and filler word usage. These data points can spark meaningful reflections and motivate change.

Structuring Your Message with Purpose

One of the challenges managers face is organizing their thoughts clearly under pressure. Whether it's delivering a project update or explaining a new initiative, strong communication starts with knowing exactly what you're trying to say.

Ruth offers a simple mindset shift that can help: instead of thinking in terms of topics, think in terms of questions. Rather than planning to “talk about the marketing strategy,” focus on answering, “What’s the most important change in our Q3 marketing approach?”

This clarity of intent helps speakers stay on track and keeps the audience engaged. It also reduces the tendency to ramble or overload the message with too much detail.

This approach works well when giving others the floor too. Instead of saying, “Share your thoughts,” you could try, “In two minutes, can you share the top three insights from your research?”

Along the same lines, Ruth explains the more you can help your team prepare their thoughts ahead of time, the more likely they’ll be articulate and concise in their sharing. When people know how long they have and what they’re aiming to say, they’re far more likely to stay on track. Clear expectations guide better contributions and keep meetings efficient.

Building Better Time Awareness

Time management while speaking is often underestimated. People may start strong and then lose track of time midway through their remarks. Others might speed through out of nerves, or speak for too long without realizing.

Ruth notes that stress plays a role here too, affecting how we perceive time while speaking. For individuals with ADHD or executive function challenges, keeping an eye on the clock while organizing thoughts can be even more difficult.

To support better time awareness, Ruth reinforces the importance of practice. Encourage team members to rehearse with a timer or use cues like countdowns or subtle signals. These external prompts help speakers stay aware of pacing, and with repetition, they’ll begin to develop internal time-sensing skills too. 

The first time someone encounters a cue card, they may be thrown off their train of thought. Ruth recommends we introduce any time management tools ahead of time and allow for a low stakes practice space. 

Everyone Can Speak Confidently

Improving speaking skills doesn’t happen overnight. It requires repetition, feedback, and encouragement. One of the most effective things a manager can do is lead by example, showing that growth in communication is both expected and supported.

Every day, communication is where leadership lives. Meetings, check-ins, presentations, and updates are the channels through which you shape direction, align your team, and influence outcomes. By helping yourself and others develop stronger speaking habits, you improve not only the quality of your communication but also the culture of your team.

Start small. Pick one behavior to focus on, like reducing filler words, improving pacing, or being more intentional about message structure. Offer one piece of feedback to a team member after their next update. And keep the door open for ongoing reflection and growth.

When confident communication becomes a shared goal, meetings become more productive, relationships grow stronger, and your team is better equipped to thrive.

Listen to the entire episode HERE to learn more about how to speak clearly and communicate effectively in any context.

 Keep up with Ruth Milligan

- Follow Ruth on LinkedIn here

- Grab a copy of her book, The Motivated Speaker, here

5 Book Giveaway of The Motivated Speaker: Six Principles to Unlock Your Communication Potential

Ruth is giving away five copies of her book to members of Podcast+. In this book, you will discover practical and accessible approaches that will help you establish powerful habits in your speaking practice. You’ll understand what’s preventing you from being influential and persuasive, and build a new foundation toward being a highly effective communicator.

To get this bonus and many other member benefits, become a member of The Modern Manager Podcast+ Community.

---------------------

The Modern Manager is a leadership podcast for rockstar managers who want to create a working environment where people thrive, and great work gets done.

Follow The Modern Manager on your favorite podcast platform so you won’t miss an episode!