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Bad People Young Habits End Common Words Um

Id ESLPod_0983_CN
Episode Id ESLPod 983
Episode Title Breaking Bad Habits
Title Common Bad Habits in Conversation
Text

Many people have bad habits in "conversation" (speaking with other people). For example, many people use "filler words," or small words that have no meaning, but are "inserted into" (put into) sentences to avoid silence, especially while one is thinking. Words like "um" and "er" are common filler words, and are often "perceived" (seen as; thought to be) a sign of weakness or "insecurity" (not feeling self-confident). Many people who want to become "public speakers" (people who make presentations to large audiences) records their speeches and count the number of times they say "um" or "er" so that they can try to "reduce" (decrease; bring down) that number to zero.

Other people, especially young people, use "like" as a filler word. For example, they might say, "And she was like, okay, go ahead and do it, but then I was like, wait a minute, are you sure?" A speaker who uses "like" this way sounds immature and unprofessional. A similar bad habit is when people, especially young people, use the verb "to go" instead of "to say." For example, someone could say, "So my teacher went, 'Have you studied for the test?' and I went, "Um, a little bit.'"

Finally, many young girls have a bad habit of using the wrong "intonation" (the tone or pitch of one's words) at the end of sentences. Normally a sentence should end with a downward pitch, or with a lower note at the end of sentence. The lower pitch "indicates" (shows) that the sentence has ended. But many young girls instead use the intonation of a question, ending on a higher pitch. They might do this on even very simple statements, such as when answering "What's your name?" as, "Wendy?" instead of "Wendy." This, too, is perceived as immaturity and insecurity.

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