Words matter
I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to join toastmasters international. a local chapter is sponsoring our group, allowing us to take the formal training to become members. i’m looking forward to completing my 10 speeches while here.
I’ve volunteered to be an ah-counter. when others are speaking, i will note pauses using ah, um, and other crutches. as highlighted on the greatest podcast in the universe, no agenda with john c dvorak and Adam curry, words matter.
One of the recent trends that i find incredibly annoying is the overuse of starting a sentence with “look:” for emphasis. it reminds me of the 80’s valley girl speak beginning a sentence with “like totally”. The recent cnn talking heads arguing over the presidential candidates are trying to press their point by often starting with “look”.
I’m excited to practice my public speaking and wheening myself of any bad habits and leveraging my toastmasters experience later this year as i reenter the world.
