Filler words you have to stop saying

So, like, here’s the thing. Like, we have been noticing a lot of really bad habits that literally creep into the way we talk and write. We mean, it’s really flipping annoying. We have to totally make sure that we are not saying, like, the same words literally every two flipping seconds.

Okay – Valley Girl mode off.

Since the summer job fair is coming to Mt. Hood on Feb. 4, and because proper vocabulary can be key to a successful interview, there’s a little problem we want to shine a literary light on that might really benefit you: excessive use of filler words.

We are not talking about the obvious no-no’s of proper language, such as “um” or profanity. We are talking about certain words that people use to fill in the cracks of their sentences.

Take “literally”, for example (an especially dangerous filler word). It is rarely used properly in a sentence. “It was literally the worst pizza ever.” As opposed to figuratively being the worst pizza ever?

Totally, definitely, literally, really, cool, freaking, flipping (the list goes on): These and many more are words that litter our vocabulary, and make us sound less professional.

The words may not be inherently bad, but many people use the word so often and incorrectly that they have beaten the original meaning out of it. That’s what happened to the word “literally” (at least one dictionary’s formal definition was recently altered to accommodate the abuse, expanding its meaning to embellish simple emphasis). We also use the words less as actual words and more as alternatives to other pauses, such as “um” and “uh.”

There also are filler phrases. These can be even more noticeable and detrimental than filler words. “You know what I mean?” Clearly, you aren’t explaining yourself properly if you need confirmation. Another one is, “To be honest” (Were you lying before?)

Since we are a newspaper, and writing is our thing (besides offering photos, videos and illustrations), it really grinds our gears when this kind of nonsense seeps its way into individuals’ writing, as well. You can get away with this stuff in spoken language. Nobody has a perfectly calculated response to something that is devoid of stutters or filler words. But this is unacceptable in writing.

Even if these words are used less frequently in writing, they are like fat that should be trimmed. Get to the point. Don’t frankly get to the point, literally get to the point or maybe get to the point. Get to the point!

So, how do you solve this? There are easy ways to break the habit of saying a certain word too often. A good start is knowing what a word means and how it is supposed to be used.

Next, every speech class will tell you that the best way to avoid saying “um” is to take a short pause of silence. But don’t stop talking altogether (that would be even worse). You can apply this same strategy to a filler word you use too much. It may sound weird to stop talking for a second, but silence can be very authoritative if used properly.

We are not trying to make you self-conscious about the way you talk or scrutinize every word that comes out of your mouth (Lord knows we did that to ourselves, in the meeting for this editorial).

We are just trying to warn you about saying a certain word or phrase too much, to the point where you start sounding stupid and less professional. If you are dropping likes between every two words, or literally adding literally to literally every sentence, you have some work to do. You know what we mean?