Women Use Too Many Words in Meetings

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I've noticed that sometimes a woman in speaking will use a lot of, I think of it as sort of throat clearing language. And then also a lot of filler words. So in meetings, I get the feeling sometimes that women do this in order to prevent interruption. It's a way of trying to hold the floor because we have so often experienced being interrupted that we fear the interruption and we would prefer to sort of stammer on rather than be prepared to deal with the interruption and say, excuse me, I'm still speaking here. The other thing is it can be incomplete preparation. Jack: Do you want to know what's trending now?

Lots of us have heard the advice that we should stop apologizing so much, especially at work. But do women really say “sorry” too often? And will it actually help our careers if we stop? We turn to two experts for insight.

Karina Schumann, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, summarizes the findings from her study “Why Women Apologize More Than Men.” Then we talk with Sally Helgesen, an executive coach and a coauthor of the book How Women Rise. She explains that saying “sorry” is only one form of the minimizing language women use at the office and shares advice on how to break the habit.

Our HBR reading list:

“Why Women Apologize More Than Men: Gender Differences in Thresholds for Perceiving Offensive Behavior,” by Karina Schumann and Michael Rosee

“The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why,” by Deborah Tannen

How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job, by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.