Crutches

Crutches, in broadcast terms, are words or phrases we lean on too often. They are often pause fillers that don't serve the communication. Find out more in this mini podcast from John Morgan.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades.  

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Transcript

Crutches

Back in my radio days, we had an expression we used to signify that a broadcaster was overusing or leaning on pet phrases. We called them crutches.

A typical slam of another broadcaster was, “He/she has more crutches than the statue at Lourdes.”

That doesn’t mean that the phrase itself didn’t have impact, it did. When it lost its flair, was when you aired it out one time too many.

It’s also the phrase that comes out when you don’t know what you’re going to say next and are attempting to get time to think. For example, during the 2008 presidential race, the four candidates had their crutch word or phrase out on display quite often. When you heard them saying these phrases, you knew they were stalling until that next idea popped in.

Barack Obama: “Look”

Joe Biden: “Ladies and gentleman”

John McCain: “My friends”

Sarah Palin: “And so too”

Broadcasters and politicians on the stump hate “dead air.” It's deadly silence they fill up all the time with words. They and we would be better served if we allowed some space between our thoughts so that we don’t come up with the same stale answers.

How often have you felt compelled to answer instantly? Almost always is the common answer. We were conditioned that way. If you didn’t have an immediate answer when asked, you were considered indecisive or just plain dumb.

All the stutterers that I’ve worked with had one or two overly impatient parents. They would says things like, “out with it” in a demanding and impatient tone to a child who was forming an answer. It was as though they were trying to force bloom flowers. What they were doing was helping the child create a crutch that gave them time to think – a stutter.

Pat answers are crutch phrases. Patterned answers have their uses but if you are giving people a steady diet of them, you're truly saying nothing.

I was asked a great question by my friend Jerry Stocking one time. He asked, “What's your purpose in speaking?” It really got me to focus on what I was about to say. Too often we speak without purpose and contribute to no one, and are guilty of air pollution.

When asked a question, get in the habit of letting your answers form rather than having to be as quick with them as you have to be when playing “Whac-A-Mole” at the arcade. Pausing will get you more hits than misses.

Make it your purpose to ask yourself, “What is my purpose in speaking?” You’ll find that you speak less and say more.

Look, my friends, it’s a crutch to speak without purpose, and so too ladies and gentlemen, you’re leaning on unproductive conditioning when you answer without a bit of reflection.

Buy yourself a present today. Purchase a pause. It will be one of the most creative things you’ll ever do.

All the best,

John