Ummm

When I write I am thankfully do not have to worry about 'ums'. The terrible filling words um, like, you know, and ahhh, seem to have secretly over taken most of our speech. Yesterday I talked to a customer who said 'you know', more than she said anything else. I wanted to scream "No I have no idea, I do not know what the heck your talking about, because you have not told me anything." or maybe "Listen Lady, I'm not a mind reader, if you want me to 'know' something you have to tell me the problem, I can't magically 'know' something." Of course as a good customer service person, I did not say any of the above.

But this got me thinking. I catch myself saying um every once in a while, and I am sure that I say it more than I realize. Usually I try to no use any fillers (something very hard to concentrate on). Some people need to hear to hear a recording of themselves, because they sound just plan stupid.

There are people who can answer questions and give speeches without sounds as if their brains were seeping out their mouths while they spoke. I had a professor in college, whom I shall not name, who said 'um so right' about a hundred plus time each hour long lecture (we would keep a tally of the number of times she said it per class). She was a very intelligent woman, with a doctorate and everything. Yet because of the filler, which she said in a very nasally voice, dragging the s into the r, almost as if it was one word, none of us took her seriously.

Well um that is um the end of um my um rant for um today.