Uhm......is this your bad habit?

I have a bad habit.

Very often, I don't zip back my bag after opening it. Kind strangers will walk up to me and worriedly caution, "Miss, your bag is opened." Actually, I have lost things too. Still, I never quite learnt to zip up my bag.

Most of us have this or that bad habit. Have you ever thought where it came from? When it started? And most importantly, how to motivate yourself to kick the bad habit?

One bad habit some speakers have is the constant use of Umm, Ahh, Err or You know. When used too much, these are annoying noises to our listeners.

Want to know my Ahh secret, how I stopped this habit?

Very simple. Here's how.

Whenever you are about to say Umm or Ahh, just open your mouth but do not let the sound come out! It may escape the first few times, but later, you will learn to catch it before it slips from your lips. 

Your Ahh when silent, becomes a pause in your speech. Remember what I say about Pauses? Pauses in speech - no matter long or short - are always welcomed by our listeners. So there you are -- cure a bad habit and gain a brownie point. Are you motivated to give it a try?

Now, your turn to advise me how to kick my bad habit of not zipping up my bag, ok?  :)

Footnote:  Talking about habits, author Charles Duhigg of the Power of Habit found a sure-fire way to replace bad habits with good ones. 

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