While I work my way through a course that teaches the basics and semi-advanced tactics of journalistic writing, I began to notice the way I speak and the common default words I use in my conversations. Reflecting on these conversations, I set a plan in place to be mindful of the way I presented my message. My findings? Absolutely atrocious and elementary. After collecting the common default words and phrases, I devised a plan to remove these words from my vocabulary.
So, what is a default word or phrase?
I classify a default word or phrase as the common language we default to when we try to carry a conversation. These words are fillers placed in between words either set in place by nervous tendency or lack of rapid thought generation. So, that being said, what are these defaults?
Um
Umm is the sound in dumb and that is how you sound. Next time you have a conversation, pay mind to how many times you say “umm”. When you make your way through public speaking courses in college, you are taught to avoid this when delivering a speech. Try recording yourself and see how many times you default to this word.
Like
Like this is the worst word that makes you seem like a character from like the movie Clueless. And, if the context of the sentence is explaining something you did to a specific degree, don’t use “like”. For example, “I ate like three donuts today” is misconstrued as an exaggeration, but we all know you did. After my personal audit, I am still failing to remove this word completely. The worst part of it all, I can no longer listen to someone without counting how many times they say "like".
Literally
I was the biggest offender when it comes to using this word, literally. When you are saying this, most likely you are speaking figuratively. “I literally died laughing.” No, you didn’t because you are here, and you are making terrible use of the English language. “Literally” used in today’s context is the opposite of its definition, exaggerated and not factual.
Honestly (a.k.a. To be honest)
Really? Are you being honest with me, now of all times? When we use the term “to be honest,” we are implying that any other time we speak, we are telling a complete and total lie. We use this phrase to improperly stress the importance of our viewpoint on a topic. What’s worse? “To be honest” or #tbh has become a widely used hashtag to gather self-validating likes and comments on social media platforms.
That
That is one of the most widely used superfluous words. From my studies, removing “that” allows for a better sentence flow and cuts down on filler words. Aside from word count cutbacks, a majority of the time we are using this incorrectly. Think about the following sentence. “I have a friend that works in London.” The use of “that” is not to be used when referring to people. You have a friend who works in London.
I mean
Yes, we know what you mean, you are saying it, right now, to me. If you use the phrase “I mean”, you are adding full on redundancy to your following statement. There is no reason to use this phrase unless we truly need your clarify your position on something. Times when I see this being used usually falls around colleagues trying to follow up a joke.
Irregardless
The definition of irregardless is regardless. Stop using this word.
There will be many more words to come down the pipeline. Of course, I will not divert your attention to terms like “bae” or any other ignorant variation of already existing terms, but more to bring attention to common words or phrases can live without.
The Exercise
Slightly sarcastic commentary aside, removing these words will help improve your overall message delivery. The best exercise you can do is to start being cognizant of the default words and phrases you commonly use and jot them down. When you find yourself using these words, stop your sentence and start over.