3 reasons to cut ‘thank you’ from your next speech

(Editor’s note: This was one of the top viewed stories of 2015. We’re rerunning it as part of a look back at the articles that captivated our readers the most.)

The parental prompting to say “thank you” is a common childhood experience.

Most of us remember our parents repeating over and over: “Say, ‘thank you'”; “Don’t forget to say, ‘thank you'”; “Did you say, ‘thank you’?” It was for good reason: to teach us to be polite and express sincere and heartfelt gratitude when appropriate.

The typical error I see presenters make when saying “thank you” is to use it more as filler, something a presenter says as a default. My advice to business leaders who are about to take the main stage: When it comes to thanking, don’t do it.

Try these three approaches instead:

1. Nix saying “thank you” as your opening comment.