Verbal Crutches [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 06:10 AM

I work for a company based out of Utah and in order to feel connected to my company and my job I try to maintain relationships with fellow sales reps throughout the country. One of these reps is in Florida and I've noticed that when he is distracted or thinking of something to say he uses this verbal crutch, " 'ya know"... I noticed this pretty much within our first conversation a few months back, and now it drives me out of my mind. Example sentence: "I just, 'ya know, think, 'ya know, 'ya know, our company, 'ya know, could, 'ya know, do things, 'ya know, 'ya know, differently, 'ya know?" ENOUGH! Of course I fucking know!
Sometimes it gets to the point where I'm just sitting there grimacing in pain, or I excuse myself from the conversation early.

I feel like I'm a pretty quick witted, quick thinking person and don't use too many verbal crutches in my personal life, but on sales calls when I'm a little bit nervous presenting something new, I find that I say "The best thing about it is..." over and over, and I'm working on stopping this.

My grandmother finishes every sentence with "But that's the way these things go..." and she also fills in conversations with "That's what it's all about..." when she can't think of something to say.

Do you have a verbal crutch, or do you notice other peoples' verbal crutches?

A.J.

03-20-2008, 06:18 AM

"You know what I'm sayin'?"

"Like".

RhinoinMN

03-20-2008, 06:21 AM

Oh yah

You betcha

Hottub

03-20-2008, 06:34 AM

Every musician I listen to is "amazing".

Oh wait, that's not me!:innocent:

Chigworthy

03-20-2008, 06:35 AM

I say motherfucker every time something goes wrong.

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 06:57 AM

Oh yah

You betcha

Yes, but what is your verbal crutch??
:smile:

King Hippos Bandaid

03-20-2008, 07:00 AM

I say um and uh alot, cause I talk fast and sometimes without thinking

RhinoinMN

03-20-2008, 07:11 AM

Yes, but what is your verbal crutch??
:smile:

If I don't exactly know what someone is talking about I say "oh yah, you betcha". I could say "I don't know what you're talking about." I guess I'm trying not to sound stupid by sounding stupid.

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 07:15 AM

When someone is talking to me I feel the need to show I'm paying attention by constantly nodding my head and saying "uh huh"... whether I'm paying attention or not. I've found myself not having heard a word that someone has said but I've already agreed to it... and then if I really wanted to know what they said I have to ask them to repeat themselves and reveal the fact that I wasn't listening in the first place.

grlNIN

03-20-2008, 07:22 AM

No problem. No problem. No problem. No problem. No problem. No problem. No problem.

I also say "right" a lot when someone is talking to me.

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 07:28 AM

Thought of one: When I don't know what to say I say "Well...?" and then don't go anywhere with it.

underdog

03-20-2008, 07:43 AM

Every musician I listen to is "amazing".

Oh wait, that's not me!:innocent:

That sounds like me. Everytime I try to describe something good, all I can come up with is fantastic and amazing. I think I need a thesaurus.

FUNKMAN

03-20-2008, 07:49 AM

i'll say this sometimes

" that's about as funny as verbal crutches on a submarine "

jauble

03-20-2008, 08:11 AM

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 08:22 AM

I never really have a verbal crutch but I did change my speech pattern awhile back (when I was about 15) as I caught myself sounding like the rednecks in the town I lived in. I was saying the word fer instead of for and other things. I actually would slap myself when I caught myself saying hick words.

When I was younger I tried to ditch my Jersey accent. I thought it sounded low class. A few years ago I flew out to Utah to work with my corporate office and the people there, despite my efforts to mask my accent, said my accent reminded them of George Costanza's mother and were trying to get me to do an impression. I was horrified but eventually realized they're just not used to ANY kind of Jersey accent and just made the connection to the Jewish grandmother. I've since then given up trying to correct my accent and have embraced it. Because I worked so hard to correct myself in the past, my accent is now kind of watered down. Now I mostly just speak really really fast.

jauble

03-20-2008, 08:25 AM

For me it wasn't even a low class thing as much as it bothered me when other people said words that way who weren't really rednecks.

A.J.

03-20-2008, 08:25 AM

Now I mostly just speak really really fast.

It's a Northeast thing. I still get crap from Deep Southerners (in a slow-as-molasses drawl) that I talk too fast.

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 08:34 AM

It's a Northeast thing. I still get crap from Deep Southerners (in a slow-as-molasses drawl) that I talk too fast.

Ohhhh it drives me NUTS!

Kris10

03-20-2008, 09:03 AM

I'd be counting how many times that guy in Florida said 'ya know' in each conversation.

LaBoob

03-20-2008, 09:37 AM

I'd be counting how many times that guy in Florida said 'ya know' in each conversation.

I've been dying to call his attention to it... but can't figure out a nice way to say it. The other day I forgot what I was saying in the middle of a sentence because I was distracted and he had the nerve to say I do that all the time???!!! I almost called him out for the ya know right then and there but it would've been out of annoyance and probably would've killed the business relationship we have.

Kris10

03-20-2008, 10:04 AM

I've been dying to call his attention to it... but can't figure out a nice way to say it. The other day I forgot what I was saying in the middle of a sentence because I was distracted and he had the nerve to say I do that all the time???!!! I almost called him out for the ya know right then and there but it would've been out of annoyance and probably would've killed the business relationship we have.

LMAO! Ya, if you said "well you want to know what you do all the time" it would have sounded childish. Its probably best if you leave it alone but I can see it being completely annoying and would doze off in lala land myself when talking to him.

As far as my crutch goes, I have a bad habit of saying "your stupid" when I find something funny. When I hear something funny I'll laugh and tell the other person there stupid. I don't mean it offensively but its taken that way :down: but after someone made me cry over it, I'm working on not using it anymore. :wallbash:

ralphbxny

03-20-2008, 11:05 AM

Sure!!

moochcassidy

03-20-2008, 12:18 PM

like

so it is

jauble

03-20-2008, 12:29 PM

like

so it is

how about fehkin?

RhinoinMN

03-20-2008, 12:39 PM

things of that nature.

chubbyknuckles

03-20-2008, 12:49 PM

I have a guy i work with that says "Giggiddy" Like Quagmire from Family guy after EVERYTHING! It's so annoying that when people talk with him, they actually mouth the giggiddy because we all know its coming.

RhinoinMN

03-20-2008, 12:50 PM

Jughead

03-20-2008, 01:04 PM

Ive been thinking about this during my sales presentation ???..I guess I use the phrase(let me tell you) ... to much....Thanks ill work on it.....Or I say(can i ask you) maybe a little to much......

IamPixie

03-20-2008, 01:07 PM

When I'm pretending to listen to someone:

"true"

RhinoinMN

03-20-2008, 01:09 PM

When I'm pretending to listen to someone:

"true"

Wow. I was rambling in the chat room one night and that's all you said numerous times.

IamPixie

03-20-2008, 01:11 PM

Wow. I was rambling in the chat room one night and that's all you said numerous times.

sorry.

RhinoinMN

03-20-2008, 01:14 PM

sorry.

its alright.

I can be a rambling douche. Especially when I drink.

PhishHead

03-20-2008, 01:14 PM

Every musician I listen to is "amazing".

Oh wait, that's not me!:innocent:

you bastard!!

I was going to post that anyway. I will say I have stopped it quite a bit on the show compared to what I use to do. I still say it, just not as much.

Jujubees2

03-20-2008, 01:30 PM

My assistant has a bad habit of saying "and again" and "I was like going". The other people in the office and I make a game out of counting how many times he says each one during a typical conversation.

A.J.

03-21-2008, 03:41 AM

"WHATNOT."

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/motorsports/whats-next-for-nascars-most-popular-driver/6395268+w700+cr1+re0+ar1/dale-earnhardt-jr.jpg

pennington

03-21-2008, 02:16 PM

I really try not to do them and stop when I notice that I am.

But for some reason the 3 or 4 times a year I see one uncle, and hear the absolute same stories every single time I say "There you go" because I don't want to prolong it and I have nothing to say. That's the only time I use that crutch and I have no idea why I only use it with him.

Crippler

03-21-2008, 02:31 PM

It's not quite a verbal crutch, more of an odd salutation, but every phone call with my cousin ends the same way once he gets bored with the conversation:

Cousin - "OK, what else do you want from my life?"
Me - "I got nothing for ya."
- CLICK -

topless_mike

03-25-2008, 04:50 AM

"word is bond"

ANC

03-25-2008, 12:24 PM

"pretty much"
"definitely"
"what can ya do, right?"
"ya know how it is"

jonyrotn

03-25-2008, 01:08 PM

Even if I semi agree with someone I'll give them a big "Oh, with out a doubt", even if there is one..I also tend to add the word "the" where it doesen't belong..."Dinking the Jamison, huh" or "I'll search it on the google."...It's stupid but I do it all the time..
Thanks for reminding me I'm a jackass..

FUNKMAN

03-25-2008, 01:19 PM

oh madone!

Gvac

03-25-2008, 01:55 PM

I have a neighbor who ends every single sentence he utters with 'OK?'

It's positively maddening.

For example - "I was driving to the store, OK? And I was stopped at a red light, OK? And I looked over and saw an old friend of mine, OK? Turns out he's going to the same store I am, OK?"

I fear running into him.

Furtherman

03-25-2008, 02:12 PM

"You'll see!"

Gvac

03-25-2008, 02:13 PM

"You'll see!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

ANC

03-26-2008, 04:37 AM

The one that really annoys me is when someone tells you something and starts off by saying "Hi'.

Example: you're already in a conversation with someone and they say "Hi, I bought eggs yesterday and they were all broken, whats up with that?"

A poor example I know, but you know what I mean..

LaBoob

03-26-2008, 04:52 AM

ANC

03-26-2008, 05:03 AM

Hi, I get it. :laugh:

My dad follows up a lot of his ideas with "Ain't it?"

My dad puts 'but' at the end of a sentence instead of at the beginning when it's called for..

EffMeBoobs

03-26-2008, 05:33 AM

whatchamacallit or umm are my verbal crutches.

I do the constant nodding thing when someone is talking to me even though I may not be paying attention. I hate when I catch myself doing it too.

topless_mike

03-26-2008, 10:08 AM

i do the nodding thing, too.

Furtherman

03-26-2008, 10:51 AM

I'm going to be on the lookout for nodders this Saturday. Nod me will you!!

Thebazile78

03-26-2008, 10:54 AM

I used to say "like" every other word when I was younger, as did many of my classmates ... until one of my teachers pointed out that saying "like" before whatever we'd said didn't convey the meaning we'd intended. So I started to catch myself as I said it, by stopping and saying "no, it's not 'like' that, it is ...."

I also have a habit of over-using "you know," "right," and similar assumptions of familiarity with a subject. (This was recently pointed out to me at work. I think I may have started using them as a way to avoid giving explanations.)

And for those of you who've pulled out the "I smile and nod when someone else is talking..." so do I. Because I think we all can agree that it's frustrating to be the one talking and not getting any reaction whatsoever from your listener. Even if they're not really listening, it's nice to think that they are!

topless_mike

03-26-2008, 11:27 AM

Nod me will you!!

is this code word for something?

*Note- Forum*

LaBoob

03-26-2008, 12:33 PM

[quote=Thebazile78;1669585]I used to say "like" every other word when I was younger, as did many of my classmates ... until one of my teachers pointed out that saying "like" before whatever we'd said didn't convey the meaning we'd intended. So I started to catch myself as I said it, by stopping and saying "no, it's not 'like' that, it is ...." quote]

Yes... I think it sounds a little juvenile for someone to say "like" after every 3rd word. A girl in one of my classes in college did this to such an extent that the professor was forced to mention it to her. It made zero impression on her whatsoever and she continued doing it for the rest of the semester.

I use "like" when I'm quoting people and I wonder if other people are looking at me like I'm speaking improperly... "She was like... "

SatCam

03-26-2008, 01:04 PM

My eighth grade french teacher would always say "kay?" after every sentence. I started counting one day but lost count

My seventh grade french teacher had a heart condition and every few sentences she would have what sounded like a hiccup

My ninth grade french teacher was FUCKING HOT!

I quit french after that

LaBoob

03-26-2008, 01:33 PM

My eighth grade french teacher would always say "kay?" after every sentence. I started counting one day but lost count

mmmKAY?

All of my french teachers were psychopaths. Except the one that said I was a "star in a sea of morons"... she was of sound mind. :laugh:

fezident

03-26-2008, 04:13 PM

When I'm pretending to listen to someone:

"true"

Nice!
I know that "true". I've been on both sides of it plenty o' times.

Bulldogcakes

03-26-2008, 04:49 PM

I work with so many Spanish speaking people that I find myself saying "gracias" way too much. Even to people lilly-white who don't speak any spanish.

ANC

01-15-2010, 09:56 AM

Resurrecting this...

One of mine is starting off a sentence with "You know what?"

GregPointer

01-15-2010, 10:23 AM

yall and my taint itches.

Meataball23

01-15-2010, 02:29 PM

Resurrecting this...

One of mine is starting off a sentence with "You know what?"

Im glad you did

I have one where when Im asked a question and respond with a negative opinion, I always start it with "i dont know" then give the opinion.

"why are you fighting with your girlfriend?"
"I dont know, shes being completely irrational."

"hows your job?"
"I dont know, I work a ton and im not geting anywhere."

really embarrassing

fezident

01-15-2010, 07:21 PM

Here's something a lot of people do when they are debating somebody. (Ronnie B does this AAALL the time too)

When the other person they are debating "wins" one of the exchanges, the first person, instead of saying "you're right" will say "interesting point".

It's definitely a lateral move. Very crutchy.

weekapaugjz

01-15-2010, 07:24 PM

Im glad you did

I have one where when Im asked a question and respond with a negative opinion, I always start it with "i dont know" then give the opinion.

"why are you fighting with your girlfriend?"
"I dont know, shes being completely irrational."

"hows your job?"
"I dont know, I work a ton and im not geting anywhere."

really embarrassing

i just realized i do the same quite a bit.

PapaBear

01-15-2010, 09:54 PM

I have no idea why I do this, and I hate it. I'll tell a co-worker a story in the news, something I noticed, an anecdote, or whatever. If I decide to tell another co-worker the same thing, I'll start by saying "I was just telling (insert previous person's name)..."

I have no idea why I do this. Maybe it's some unconscious thing, where I don't want to give the impression that they are the first person I told this story to?

opie's twisted balls

01-15-2010, 10:05 PM

When anyone says "at this point in time blah blah blah......" I yearn for a cricket bat to bash their skulls in.

PapaBear

01-15-2010, 10:10 PM

When anyone says "at this point in time blah blah blah......" I yearn for a cricket bat to bash their skulls in.
I foresee this exchange, just to fuck with them...

Anyone: At this point in time...

You (interrupting): At what point in time?

Anyone: THIS point in time!

You: That's what you said before. That was THAT point in time. Are you a time traveler, or are you just trying to piss me off?