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We're "Firecracker Crazy"!

The 34th Annual Firecracker Run is on Independence Day, this Wednesday, July 4th. The office team has officially gone Firecracker Crazy, please allow additional time for any calls or emails to be returned as we will be setting up and hosting the O'Fallon Chamber's largest fundraiser of the year.

Billboard Advertising Now Available for Chamber Members!

The O'Fallon Chamber is proud to announce a new partnership with DDI Media to bring the opportunity for billboard advertising to our membership! For only $100/month, Chamber members can have a 10-second ad rotate on the digital billboard to have 40 impressions per month! Only 30 spots are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Billboard spots are sold in three-month increments. For more information call the O'Fallon Chamber at 636-240-1818 or
 CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT!

So, like, how can I, um, clean up my speech?

Our brains don’t like silence, so they fill in the gaps with words. But these “filler words” can make us sound unsure. Do this to keep your credibility.

Have you ever been in a meeting and heard the speaker say something like this: “We need to, um, focus our attention, on aah, this proposal.”

We often use filler words–um, aah, so, like–when we’re trying to think of the next thing to say. Our brains don’t like silence, so it fills in the gap with words. The problem is, these “filler words” can make us sound, um, unsure and unprepared. Especially under high-stress situations, such as an important presentation or a job interview, when our words get ahead of our thoughts. Filling in the dead air with ums and ahhs can kill your credibility and detract from your message.

“If someone is using a lot of filler words, that becomes the focus,” says Katy Temple, communications coach and former Emmy award-winning sportscaster. Rather than listening to the message, the audience’s focus turns to the number of “ums” or “likes” the person uses. “You’ve gotten away from listening to the message to walking away from the conversation thinking, ‘Wow, that person says ‘like’ or ‘um’ a lot. That’s the opposite of what you want, as a presenter,” she says.

While some of us are aware that we use filler words, many of us would be shocked to find out how often we really use them.

Try these seven tips to eliminate filler words from your vocabulary.
1. RECORD YOUR SPEECH
The first step to reducing “ums”, “aahs,” and “likes” from your speech is to become aware of how often you use them. Record yourself during a phone conversation or in a meeting and analyze the recording afterwords, keeping track of how many filler words you used.
“The key is awareness,” says Temple. “Once you are aware that you’re using the filler words, you can start eliminating them.” Once you hear yourself saying “um” and “like,” you’ll start to notice when you’re about to use a filler word and can stop yourself before you do. So get out your phone the next time you’re in a meeting or doing a presentation and record yourself.

NEXT WEEK.

O'Fallon Elite
07/09/2018
12:00 PM - 01:15 PM C

Golf Committee Meeting
07/09/2018
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM C

Business After Hours
07/10/2018
04:30 PM - 06:30 PM C

Ambassador Meeting
07/10/2018
03:30 PM - 04:15 PM C

Ribbon Cutting: Feel the Clean, LLC
07/10/2018
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM C

Masters of Business
07/11/2018
12:00 PM - 01:15 PM C

Ribbon Cutting: SCCAD Engine Station 5
07/11/2018
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM C

Chamber 101
07/12/2018
03:30 PM - 05:00 PM C

Leads 2 Success
07/13/2018
12:00 PM - 01:15 PM C

BJC HealthCare	Extreme Electrical
City of O'Fallon	Mercy
Country Side Flooring America

BUSINESS

Country Financial         Spectrum Business

Wingate by Wyndham Bob Engert- Edward Jones

FRIENDS

West Community Credit Union	FASTSIGNS
Grace River Church	KSLQ 104.5
Gibson Printing	Great Southern Bank
99.9 KFAV	Cottleville Synergy Center
Shannon Norman Law	Promotions Pronto

Delmar Gardens/Garden Villas of O'Fallon

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