How not to sound weird when talking to authority?

Just be yourself and talk to the authority as if he/she is just another person. He/she has a label of an authority doesn't mean he/she is better than you. He/she still eats, goes to the bathroom, and goes to sleep just like each of one us. That's how I feel comfortable talking to anyone I meet.

You can be respectful. You can address them as sir, ma'am, Mr. ____, or Mrs.____. You don't have to be uptight, authority figures are people too. It's okay to make light-hearted jokes, just maintain respectfulness.

It's important to remain calm and collected. Know what you want to achieve and think logically, planning what you want to say beforehand. If it isn't as formal as this and it is just a catch up, just try to remember they are just there to help. They may well be older or in a high position, but your care is important to them and being open and honest will help you both.

Practice talking to authority in a mirror. Be calm. Stand straight. Be honest and stand your ground, but know the limitations of that relationship too. Sounding weird when talking to authority might be reasonable cause for said authority to suspect something, so take care!

With the authority, conversation should be held executively. Be straight and clear in what you are trying to say. Do not jumble up with your words. Keep them short yet impressive. And smile often.

Just be yourself. That is the most simple thing to do. Do not even change yourself to authority or whoever you wish to talk to. Be yourself, calm down, relax. They are likely to be humans just like you are, so there is no need to actually feel embarrassed to do things wrong - we all do things wrong sometimes and it is not bad at all to have an embarrassing situation. They can help us to improve and work on ourselves and with each step you are doing, you will grow. You see, it is not even bad or something like that - you just need to look at it from a different perspective.

We all think we sound weird when talking to others! In a public speaking course, I learned that fear of public speaking rates higher for people than the fear of death. Speaking to an authority figure is much the same, because you feel like you have a spotlight on you and that every word is being scrutinized as if under a microscope. So much of that fear is our own perception of ourselves and the short answer to your problem is that the more you practice something, the easier it becomes. Role play with friends and family who can give you constructive feedback on the way you sound and point out when they think you "sound weird" or are making common speaking mistakes, such as stammering, using words like "um" or using the word "like" too frequently. You can overcome this obstacle, but it requires practice and confidence! Best of luck to you!

Adapt a professional tone and behaviour. Fake it till you make it and you wont feel awkward. Learn to become comfortable in your own skin and with who you are as a unique individual.

Being as professional and to the point as possible is the best way to not only sound intelligent to authority but also give point that you are in control of yourself and thoughts and you are firm in what you say and do and thus shows maturity to the authority figure and allots them to treat you with more respect and understanding.

Just try to relax and do your best to communicate clearly and directly. Remember to speak in your usual level of volume, and try to remember not to speak too fast.

I think it's always difficult not to overthink your responses and behavior/body language when speaking to someone of/in authority. I've always found that remaining calm, respectful and listening carefully to what is being said tends to work best for me. When you overthink the situation, you tend to act unnaturally and then potentially portray yourself as difficult or hiding something! Further, if you tend to become more anxious in this type of situation, perhaps try to keep your sentences short and more to the point as opposed to rambling. This paired with the previous point helps put me at ease, and by default, helps me in not sounding too weird!

This is a subjective question. If you feel weird talking to a person in authority, it is a personal reflection of your performance in a social arena. Everyone will sound weird if they think they are awkward and sound weird - it's a self fulfilling psychological prophecy. Just know what message you want to get across and why. Your passion and conviction will carry a lot of weight. If you are asking questions just to get attention, that can come across as quite contrite. But if you ask a question because you have genuine curiousity and want to learn, it shows.

Do it politely. Then say clearly what you want them to do, how is the situation, and your requests (if you have any). Look at them in their eyes. You don't have to smile or use gestures. Just act confident. They're also human. But they have more life experience. And that's it. Respect them for that. If they rejected your request, then smile politely and say, "I'm thankful that you listened to my concerns." Or if it's really urgent, tell them what will happen if they keep on rejecting. And how it will affect others including you. Well then, good luck.

Know your priorities, and respectfully communicate with them, assuming they are supportive and kind over judgemental and critical. How they respond is outside of your control, as long as you are acting as a responsible, caring, and polite individual, it will sound like you have enough self-respect for them to begin to treat you respectfully. I find that the more I am willing to look out for others in a way that cares for myself too, the more that others automatically look up to me, and don't just dismiss me as a nobody. Many in authority do so to serve others. Respect and recognize this.

When we speak to authority we should be respectful, compliant and understanding. If we become anxious or nervous our speech becomes impaired and anxiety can take charge of the rest of our actions. To prevent this, remain calm and think that if nothing wrong has been done, nothing is to be feared as authority is usually in that authority position because they are either qualified or trained. Be honest with your actions and with your words, seek to not be hostile and to comply with reasonable requests, authority figures are to be respected at all times as they can impact our livelihood if we don't comply with their requests.

You can sound less awkward and weird by just talking in a calm and collective voice, and addressing them by “sir” or “ma’am”. It could also help if you don’t look like you’ve seen a ghost, and look at them with a calm look, not looking intimidated. Looking intimidated can make that person feel uncomfortable and weird as well. It also depends on how well you know them, or their personality. If you know them well, you can maybe say hello by addressing them by their name. If it is someone who is new to you, you can start by saying hello, and eventually ask them questions to get to know them better.

Try and relax a little but remain in a formal matter. Don't let anxiety manifest into physical form and prevent you tackling the task and hand and speak as if they were a friend and you were at a formal convention.

When talking to authority remember to be respectful but don't think they're better than you in any way. Talk normally, but be proper.

Just be kind - as long as you can convey a positive tone, or emotion whilst you're talking to them then you'll be a-ok. Introverted and feel like your rambling or not talking enough - as long as you're projecting positivity or being receptive to what they say - then they'll be more welcoming and accepting.

Respect. Always. Be polite on even the smallest things. Don’t use any type of slang like you wild with your friends.

Be yourself and be polite, such as adding mam or sir, mr and mrs/ms to maintain that formal boundary.

Just stay calm. Im assuming by authority or mean law enforcement. I would think they're used to people sounding weird with them considering who they are,

I think that comes with confidence, don't over think it. You know what you want to say, don't wonder if people think it's weird. It's not.

First thing is to keep it simple, don't compensate for nervousness or ramble on. Don't try to act smart, if a question was asked answer the question in precise detail and fact

It can be helpful if you plan in advance what you want to say to them and practice, whether that be saying what you want to say in front of a mirror a few times or practicing some role play scenarios with someone who you are comfortable with talking to.

Talk confidently, just say it. If you can't, you'll need to work on your self-confidence first. Otherwise you'll keep feeling that way.

Prepare beforehand. This reduces the anxious feeling because you'll know exactly what you need and want to say. Confidence is also key. If you're confident, it will feel better.

Smiling not only makes your voice more pleasant to listen to, it also conveys confidence... You will appear friendly, approachable, and composed.

Realise ta that authority is a person too, that wants people to like them and treat them as a fiend. If it doesn't seem so it's because they are too scared tat they won't be in control because they know deep down there is no reason you should obey them, other than whatever consequences they can impose on you.

When talking to authorities it can feel a bit overwhelming. I think the best way to not sound "weird" is to remember they are just like you and I! Also, a lot of times we judge ourselves on conversations and although we feel they didn't go so well, usually they did! Try to just take a few breaths and keep in mind that we are all just human :)