spinoff of "um" thread: verbal bad habits

[redlight]

What bad habits do you have in your speech? I don't do "like" too much, but I do say "cool" way too often!

 

[AshleyW]

What bad habits do you have in your speech? I don't do "like" too much, but I do say "cool" way too often!

Well, mine isn't an intentional habit, but a habit nonetheless.. I talk too fast, and have some social anxiety problems so I get nervous when I talk, and wind up stumbling over my words. Either I flip-flop words in a sentence, or I mash two words together and create a whole new word. I've tried slowing myself down, but it never seems to fail - something always gets mixed up.

 

[Vixen]

What bad habits do you have in your speech? I don't do "like" too much, but I do say "cool" way too often!

I say like toooo much!

 

[ckay87]

When I'm nervous about talking with someone, I find I have a hard time looking them in the eyes. I hate that and am working on it.

But my bad, bad, BAD verbal habit....I can curse like a sailor. Not proud, am working on it. Able to censor myself pretty effectively, but a bad habit nonetheless. It is a skill I picked up during my childhood and turned into an artform during my teen years .

 

[kristilew]

I use the word "fabulous" way too often.

 

[ghoulishgirl]

I also have a problem with eye contact and according to a good friend, say ' ya know?' alot.

 

[MiniGirl]

I use the word "fabulous" way too often.

My friends would tell you this is mine as well. LOL!!! Although I don't think I use it as much as I used to.

 

[MomofKatie]

I use the word "actually" a whole lot, for some reason.

I also tend to go into waaay too much detail when telling someone something- going into backstories that don't matter, etc. I am trying really hard to stop it. I guess I just hate for there to be a lull in the conversation and try to fill it with a lot of unnecessary words.

I also talk too much in general- when in a conversation, I tend to not even pay much attention to what the other person is saying, because I am thinking about what I'm going to say next. Not very polite, but I am also trying to work on that.

 

[redlight]

I say "actually" too often.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

I say "actually" too often.

Actually, I do too!

I also say "you know" too often...but I'm slowly trying to break that habit!

 

[Narnian_Princess]

I say 'like' too often, like maybe 2 or 3 times in a conversation. (SEE?! X( ) I get annoyed at myself for that.

I also blame the Mythbusters for introducing the term 'dude' into my vocabulary. -_-

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I tend to skip important parts of a story and assume that whoever I'm talking to already knows them.

 

[RachelNinja]

When I'm teaching, I say "again" probably every few minutes. I wonder if my students have picked up on it! I do it for a reason though.

Let's say I just taught the Pythagorean Theorem. I KNOW for a fact that there are students who didn't pay attention when I explained it or didn't quite understand it the first time around. So as I explain it again, I start off by saying, "Again, make sure you remember that the hypotenuse is opposite the right angle." I don't want the students to think I'm repeating myself without knowing it. I want them to know I'm just teaching it for the second time or reviewing it.

Haha, it does take people many times to hear/learn something until it is stored in memory so it's for their own good! I just notice the "again" thing myself, and sometimes I inwardly chuckle.

 

[autumnpalm]

I say "like" wayyyy too often. I irritate even myself with it. Even if I consciously try to have a conversation without it, I can't get by. It's kind of horrible.

 

[ahutton]

Someone mentioned "actually" and since all 3 of my kids started saying that before they turned 4 years old, I use it too much. Same with starting my answers to their questions with "Well, ..."

Part of it for me is speech training from high school and college. To break you of the ums and ahs you are taught to use words and pauses to start responses that allow your brain to run a few words ahead of your mouth.

A fun tip to break people of that habit - have them talk in front of a few people, and have those people snap when they use the word or non-word. It retrains your brain.

And eye contact helps too, it is very hard to use non-words when looking someone in the eye!

 

[AllyandJack]

I tend to use "whatever" too much.

It's either that, or I say what I really think and, sometimes, I think it's best if I just say "whatever".

It probably annoys people, but I'd rather say "whatever" and calm down than saying some of the things that really go through my mind.

 

[paintnolish]

I'm like, "What'd he say?"
She's like, "He said no."
I"m like, "You're kidding me!"

Notice a pattern? I also like to use "goes" instead of "said".