But another media powerhouse - Howard Stern - took her to task back in December on his popular SiriusXM radio show. A fan of her Deadline: White House show on MSNBC, Stern complimented Wallace profusely but then went on to point out that she tends to use "sort of" as a vocal filler when she's on the air. And this critique wasn't in passing. Stern spent some time on it, although he did also insist that he admires her work and gives her show high marks. Wallace wasn't even a guest on Stern's show at the time - it was just Stern going on a seemingly impromptu rant.
What would you do if you were called out so publicly? But wait - most of us won't be. So ask yourself: what would you do if offered constructive feedback in private? Most of us would get defensive. Not Nicolle Wallace. She took to Twitter:
And you know what? She changed her ways. Her use of the vocal filler decreased dramatically. And Stern noticed and praised her on one of his later shows. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to point something out to us. And when it's couched in praise and admiration, it's often heard and heeded. You probably won't be headlining your own talk show on MSNBC anytime soon, but you can monitor your use of vocal fillers when speaking in public and even in private conversations.
Just today Stern commented that Wallace seems to be slipping back a bit into her "sort of" habit. Let's hope she was listening and will give her delivery just a little more attention.
But wait. Is this feedback ever really appropriate? And do women get called out on such things at rates higher than men? I'll discuss this in a later post. And I'll also share with you how you can better monitor your own use of unintended vocal fillers.
