Avoid cliches, corn and verbal mannerisms

The magic convention was excellent. Extremely talented and diverse magicians from all over the world congregated in South Shields for a few days to share secrets and to entertain one another. If you're interested, you can find out more about magic conventions on my website We Love Magic.

From the public speaking point of view, something that struck me was how often I heard the same lines. Particularly these days, when magicians watch - and listen to - one another on DVD all the time, cliches and corny gags are copied and repeated more and more. Practically every time somebody from the audience signs a card, for example, he or she is asked to put his or her credit card number underneath the signature. This may (or may not) have been marginally amusing the first time somebody said it but, if you've heard it before, it's just irritating.

A new one is, when giving instructions to an assistant from the audience, the frequent use of "Do me a favour". Personally, I feel this expression is out of place in the context but, anyway, it's the endless repetition that grates.

It's certainly not just magicians who behave like this. How often in everyday life do people use the expression "to be honest"? How many corny jokes do you hear in the average day?

When you're writing a speech or presentation, be careful to avoid cliches and corn. And, while you're rehearsing, listen out for your own verbal mannerisms. Do you, for instance, ask, "Do you know what I mean?" more often than is necessary? If so, make a conscious effort to cut down, or even cut it out altogether.

If you overuse cliches, you risk distracting people from the content of your speech. Find an original way to say it and people will be far more impressed. You might even start a new cliche. :-)