Say What? Resolution #3

"Um like you know cuz it's a whole nother thing."

Huh??

The final grade for my class included a 20 minute powerpoint presentation that outlined our final projects. This is when I realized that more than half of the class can't speak properly. And by properly, I mean not at all. I was APPALLED by the over usage of the words "like," and "um" and actually started to keep track of how many times each speaker would repeat those words. I lost count once the speaker rounded 40.

"Ummmmmmm, you know."

No, I don't know. Explain it to me. I know what? What are you trying to say? Is it necessary speak this phrase at the end of every sentence, because I DON'T understand the words that are coming from your mouth.

"It's a whole nother thing."

Nother?

I'm no public speaking phenom by any means, but I do make a conscience effort to slow down, eliminate as many "ums," and "you knows" as possible. I do incorporate "cuz" and "um" at times, and I've even caught myself exclaiming, "that's a whole nother thing."

Ick. Ick. Ick.

Don't even get me started on the word "like." Once again, not claiming perfection here, I throw slang around like it's my job. It becomes a problem when the lines between speaking with slang and speaking properly are blurred. I've not only noticed this with myself, but with other professionals that I encounter on a daily basis.

Resolution #3 is to speak better, especially on a professional level. Chit chatting with girlfriends is one thing, but when a client asks me a question such as, "What are the benefits of sending my patients to your facility," and I start my reply with, "Ummmmm, you know," my insides twist, and I cringe because I know I've already blown it.

Stop.
Think.
Respond.

I want to start my declarative sentence off as a declarative sentence.

"The benefits of sending your patients to our facility are.........blah, blah, blippity, blah."

I want to dramatically reduce the usage of the words like, um, cuz, nother, and you know.

We're all educated - time to start acting educated.

Like, you know?