10 common phrases to avoid in speeches

If you’re restating something, you don’t have to point to it. If you do, it can come off as an accusation that your audience hasn’t been listening.

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There are a few phrases that always hit my ear badly when I hear speakers use them in response to an audience member’s question.

They’re all variations on the same theme; you can probably come up with several similar ones of your own. Each can make the person who utters them come across as annoyed, if not downright peevish.

The phrases are:

• “As I mentioned earlier”
• “As I already said in my email”
• “As I said before”
• “As I’ve already mentioned”
• “Like I previously stated”
• “As I wrote in the memo you received”
• “Like I said”
• “As I stated earlier”
• “Like we discussed”
• “As we covered at the beginning”

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