<p>How is it possible that full-grown adults still are so unconscious and lazy in their speaking that they lace their sentences with a continuing barrage of "ummm"s and "uhhh"s? Sometimes when I am with people who present themselves like this I actually pull out a piece of paper and mark down, stroke for stroke, each time that person says “ummm” or “uhj.” I do the same with the fricatives “like” and “you know.” It is truly astonishing how sloppy many people are in their speaking and how completely unaware they are of their own voice and how annoying it is to those who must endure them. The Managing Director of an investment firm I sat with once in an internship expectorated the “ummm” sound almost every three or four words until I counted an “ummm” on average every three seconds. Excruciating.</p>
<p>I guess this is one of the biggest reasons people fail at job interviews. No one gives them feedback that they failed because they couldn’t hold a couple of sentences together without the crutch of the ummmmmmm. They were probably told that the “fit” didn’t work or something.</p>
<p>When people see me pull out my paper and pen in a presentation, they know what I’m alerting to and I believe they think a bit harder how how they are saying what they are saying and the ummmm’s decrease. It is still a battle, however. Picking their nose would be less disruptive in a meeting.</p>
<p>My daughter got in to TAMS which is a science and math program here. There were other reasons to not go. But, when she went up for interview day, which was the very end of the application process, the young lady touring up would roll her eyes while she was talking and say “umm” and “like” all the time. It was as if she was right out of the 80’s and a Valley Girl.</p>
Uh, hate to break it to you, but neither of those are fricatives.
Expectorate doesn’t make any sense in that sentence.</p>
<p>It is truly astonishing how sloppy many people are in their verb use and how completely unaware they are of the actual definitions of the words they are using and how annoying it is to those who actually have vocabularies (and or google).</p>
<p>We seem to get a thread like this every so often. The general reaction back is often that it’s not nice to play schoolmarm. And congratulate yourself for it. </p>
<p>I agree on the woeful sloppiness. Cannot imagine pulling out pen and paper during someone’s presentation to count their errors (unless you teach pubic speaking.)</p>
<p>Once there was this kid who
Got into an accident and couldn’t come to school
But when he finally came back
His hair had turned from black into bright white
He said that it was from when
The car had smashed so hard</p>
<p>Every student should take public speaking in high school - it would make them all better speakers. Unfortunately, most high schools don’t offer it (it was required when I was in HS took the place of one semester of English). My daughter is currently taking it as a college freshman - she hears lots of umm and uhh during the student’s speeches (which hopefully will be gone when they finish the class).</p>
<p>A quick search returned several applicable quotations:</p>
<p>Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.
Little minds have little worries, big minds have no time for worries.
Little things affect little minds.
Little things please little minds.</p>
<p>You’d probably be better served by thinking critically about content than by obsessing over presentation.</p>
<p>LOL! Those are not fricatives. “Th” and “f” are fricatives.</p>
<p>In general, I think it’s the schools’ faults. Students are rarely forced to get up and present in front of others. I have friends who grew up in the Soviet Union, and their government aside, apparently students had to get up and speak to the class almost every day, so many Russians are very good conversationalists and are comfortable with public speaking. Also, today’s youth are so used to writing in 140-character bits and pieces that it’s hard for them to understand the value of the spoken word. I view people who constantly say “uhh” and “umm” as under-educated.</p>
<p>chaoskitty, I did not claim to be the 21st century’s greatest orator, LOL. I have trouble just like anyone else public speaking. But if someone can’t get through a simple presentation without uhh’ing, umm’ing, and you know’ing every few seconds, then that person does not deserve my undivided attention.</p>
<p>In real life, you pay attention when the info or relationship is important. Not turn off or walk away (or set up a tally) based on delivery. I can think of many people I honored with my undivided attention (eg, bosses, trainers, experts, and others.) I may not have respected their speaking skills, but that was private.</p>
<p>It’s amazing how much I learn on CC every day.</p>
<p>But on this same topic, my company collaborates with a very distinguished, world class scientist who is also president-elect of a prestigious scientific society. She gives speeches all over the world. Speeches that are filled with “ahhhh” and “uhhhh”. I don’t think anyone dares say anything to her.</p>