Tuesday, August 26, 2014

We, Like, Need a Better Game Plan

As fate would have it, I recently found myself as the front-seat-driver privy to five teenage girls in the backseat playing “One Minute Madness,” otherwise known as “The Um Game.”  The object is to talk about a given topic for one solid minute without saying the words “um,” “like,” or “ya know.”  Topics ranged from the mundane (stop signs) to the icky (ear wax) and as they laughed their way through it, they all agreed that the game was surprisingly challenging.  (I swear on my copy of “Do you Speak American?” that I did not put them up to this.)

How terrific that teenage girls are game for a new game that challenges their ability to speak without verbal tics and crutches!   

The fact is, we do need a better game plan – or more games and better strategies - to help young girls/women modify their speech patterns so the sound of their own voices don’t get in the way of their success. 

Just a few days ago, Christina Sterbenz, a young writer at Business Insider, contributed a trend story entitled, “Are These Common SpeechHabits Bringing You Down?”  She says, “How you say something matters as much as, like, what you say.  If you want to get your ideas across, then pay attention to certain controversial speech habits becoming increasingly more common.”

Sterbenz covers six of the most common trends, many of which I have covered in this blog: 
1. Vocal Fry 
2. Uptalking 
3. Beginning sentences with “so” 
4. Saying “Um” and “Ah” 
5. Saying “Like” 
6. Clearing your throat  

All six trends have video accompaniments.  Former News Anchor Connie Chung does a great piece on uptalking, interviewing both a linguist on her thesis and Villanova college students on this contagious rise in our intonation that turns our proclamations into questions.   

It is enlightening (if not a bit disturbing), to watch the YouTube videos of mega star pop idols showcasing their own mindless affectations including Kesha’s creaky vocal fry, Taylor Swift’s “um” syndrome and Justin Bieber’s innumerable “likes.”

For mega stars and mere mortals alike, games like, “One Minute Um-Madness” (my combined new title) and maybe even a modified version of the word guessing party game Taboo (switched up so you are not allowed to fall prey to verbal tics) are fun and effective exercises to help us rid ourselves of the verbal fillers, vocal fry and the “like” syndrome. It is all about awareness and modeling the right speech behaviors.  However, it is tricky. 

According to speech/language pathologist Marci Macaluso, “You need to be conscious of your speech pattern at the same time that you are being spontaneous in your conversation.  There are different strategies for shaping these behaviors.  But, you really need to commit to changing, because it takes a lot of practice.”

We all want to present our best selves.  No matter our chosen professions, internships or leadership positions, we don't just need to dress for success, we need to speak to impress!  But how do we find our own authentic voice, and one not riddled with like, ya know, whatever?

At the upcoming panel presentation on September 18th, 7-9pm at the Chappaqua Library, we will discuss all of this – the socio-linguistic trends (aka verbal fashion trends) including verbal tics and crutches, vocal fry and social media's affect on our speech patterns.  There will be tips and tricks as well and as an opportunity to learn more about a speech modification program. And, I am so thrilled that I will be joined by Speech/Language Pathologist Marci Macaluso, Writopia Lab Director Lena Roy and Human Resources Consultant Pam Schiffman.  

Like, hope to see ya there!:-)


4 comments:

shuli said...

I had an experience a couple of weeks ago, when I was overhearing conversations between groups of students I've been working with for years, talking to groups of students I didn't know well. It would be an understatement to say that my students were echoing a lot of my speech patterns and phraseology. There was no major text speak or the like, but a lot of over-usage of words like seriously and bizarre (apparently I use both all the time) and phrases like for the record. It made me wonder if much of the problem rests with us. Perhaps if we were demonstrating more competent speech, we'd be seeing it?

Unknown said...

Hi Shuli! Thanks for your insight. I do think that speech patterns are contagious and can spread rapidly. Whether they are verbal tics, words, phrases or expressions. And, I am sure as adults, teachers, parents, we could all be better at modeling good speech patterns. I know I am guilty of some winning phrases too!:-) But, it is this pop-culture infested world our teenagers live in that gives me pause - their influence can't be understated.

Unknown said...

My comment disappeared so forgive me if it comes up twice! Well done! I like the "um/like/So" game - I've never heard of that! These vocalizations are driving me nutty so I wrote a blog about it too!.
http://www.marciliroff.com/new/are-you-frying-your-job-prospects/

Unknown said...

Hi Marci! Thanks so much for the comments! I loved your blog and we echo similar concerns and issues - uptalk, vocal fry and the Valley Girl coming about in the 21st century. As a casting director, do you see this issue with boys/men or are women the biggest offenders? I see you are in CA, but wish you were here in NY so we could meet - and so you could guest speak at my panel.