Like, It’s Okay to Pause
22-Sep-06
Today I, as well as several of my students, were annoyed at how often some of the 8th graders excessively use the word “like” when speaking. During one such occasion this afternoon I stopped a girl while she was making a point because she had become entangled in her thoughts. She was actually saying “like” so much that she was unable to articulate her point at all.
“Just stop for a moment,” I said. “Relax. You’re saying “like” about every other word. Think about what you want to say. ‘Like’ is a lazy word. People use it as filler because they are uncomfortable with silence. It’s okay to have brief periods of silence when you speak so that you can think about what you want to say next.”
Then Joey, one of my more energetic students, blurts out at the top of his lungs, “Oh yeah! That’s what they do when they speak Spanish!”
I laughed for, like, ten minutes.