Like, you know, you know what I am saying?

[Bigrayok]

I was watching David Letterman interview Justin Bieber Monday night. Justin Bieber seems like a nice kid, but I had to turn the channel because he said the word "like" after nearly every sentence. It really got on my nerves. I hear a lot of people, especially athletes say "you know" after nearly every sentence when interviewed. I think colleges ought to have a class called "You Know" as part of their communications' curriculums. Maybe athletes, entertainers, and others can improve their communication skills, you know what I am saying?

Bigray in Ok

[kevinpate]

you know, I do. <VBG>

[Dustin]

or when people say "uuuhhhh" after every other word..

"And uhhhh, well I uhhhh...."

Drives me crazy!

[BBatesokc]

[BBatesokc]

I think colleges ought to have a class called "You Know" as part of their communications' curriculums.

That's one reason we made our teen take speech in high school and college. I'm a big believer that how well you communicate has a huge impact on your professional and personal life.

[poe]

That's one reason we made our teen take speech in high school and college. I'm a big believer that how well you communicate has a huge impact on your professional and personal life.

I couldn't agree more. Verbal pauses can make an interview excruciating.

[cjohnson.405]

My wife and I watched Valley Girl (1983) recently and were extremely embarrassed as we watched the movie. When the movie came out, I remember thinking "those people speak a foreign language." But, our younger people today (40 year olds and under) sound just like the Vals. IMO - We are moving down the road to Idiocracy.

[bandnerd]

Unfortunately, teaching teenagers, the "like" thing rubs off on me, but I try to fight it. I don't find it as annoying, though, nor do I find "uh" annoying. It's really just the mind trying to sort out what the person is going to say. Some people can just do that faster than others, it seems. We don't all talk like we walked out of a movie or novel. We all probably say "uh" or an equivalent much more than we realize.

[BBatesokc]

I actually find many people only over use the 'likes,' 'uhs' and 'you know's' when they are addressing a group or media cameras - more of a nervous tick.

[MikeOKC]

The newest one that drives me crazy is starting everything with "so" as in "So I was going to...." or "So yesterday me and my friend..." It makes no sense. And don't get me started on "No problem" after a "Thank you." That one drives me crazy and it's becoming universal. It makes it seem like it COULD have been a problem - but it wasn't. What happened to "You're welcome," or "Thank YOU!" ????

[bandnerd]

The newest one that drives me crazy is starting everything with "so" as in "So I was going to...." or "So yesterday me and my friend..." It makes no sense. And don't get me started on "No problem" after a "Thank you." That one drives me crazy and it's becoming universal. It makes it seem like it COULD have been a problem - but it wasn't. What happened to "You're welcome," or "Thank YOU!" ????

See, I say no problem all the time. I'm not implying that there ever was a problem, either.

[MikeOKC]

See, I say no problem all the time. I'm not implying that there ever was a problem, either.

I like this from The Boston Globe....sums it up for how I feel, after all...did I say there was a problem?!?!

There’s a certain kind of person - you may even be this kind of person - whose good will after receiving a favor and replying with “thank you” is completely wiped out when the response is not the traditional “you’re welcome,” but instead the breezier “no problem.”

As “no problem” has caught on and spread, replacing “you’re welcome” in situations ranging from casual personal encounters to business deals, the number, vigor, and shrillness of the complaints in etiquette columns and Internet forums has spread along with it.

The reasons given - or unstated - are varied. Many especially dislike hearing “no problem” in commercial transactions and from folks in customer service jobs, since, as the customer is always right, nothing a customer could ask for could ever be “a problem.” “I assume my business is not a problem,” huffed one complainer on the message boards at the Visual Thesaurus. Others on the Internet have taken the same tack: “Why would it be a problem? It’s her job, isn’t it?” and “It better damn well NOT be a problem, because I just gave you my money.” Some dwell on the counterfactual: “I always wonder if the person would have helped me if they had known it would be a problem.” And from Twitter: “I know it’s no problem. You rang up my orange juice. How could that be a...problem?”

Others think the problem of “no problem” is one of self-centeredness. In a comment on the blog for the public radio station WAMC in Albany, N.Y., one person with a no-problem problem wrote: “When you say [no problem], you are describing or assessing how you feel about the favor or task that you are being thanked for instead of acknowledging the social nicety of a ‘thank you’ with a statement that in turn acknowledges what was just said to you in a relational context.” (Whew!) In other, fewer words: If you say “no problem,” you’re talking about yourself. If you say “you’re welcome,” the focus is still on the favoree, where it evidently belongs.

Others just think “no problem” is unnecessarily negative, dwelling as it does on the problem, and not the just-proffered solution. “You’re welcome,” has two generally positive words, compared with the doubly negative “no problem.

Perhaps the “no problem” of service workers is a way to reclaim some measure of power - “no problem,” after all, does remind the customer that her request is technically within the power of the employee to grant or refuse. It’s subtle reminder of the control workers often do have over a customer’s experience - especially in the face of the customer who is always, or perhaps simply needs to be, right.

This short .pdf poster for customer service use is also good:
http://www.customercarecoach.com/pub...lemarticle.pdf

Like....uh...you know....sorry for talking about...uh..."no problem" in a...you know...thread about "like" and...like..."you know."

[kevinpate]

Like....uh...you know....sorry for talking about...uh..."no problem" in a...you know...thread about "like" and...like..."you know."

Duuuuude, no pro-ble-mo

8^)

[bandnerd]

All i can say is no one has ever expressed any ill will toward me for saying no problem, and I had given it no thought. I also say you're welcome, but usually to people I don't know as well.

Perhaps it's just...uh...like...my way, you know?

[SoonerDave]

I've offered both replies over the years, and I've always intended for "No Problem" to convey the notion, "what I did for you I was pleased/happy to do for you."

In the broader context of the post, however, I agree that coherent communication is becoming a lost art. When I hear English teachers tell me that they don't bother teaching spelling anymore, don't diagram sentences, and don't critically grade written papers as long as they "convey an idea" (or words to that effect), I understand why. As someone who believes English is one of the most expressive, if complex, languages in the world, it is disheartening indeed to see us lose touch with the fundamentals of communication in general, and the language in particular.

[cjohnson.405]

Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy?

It jokingly predicts that high IQ people will breed themselves out of existence with low birth rates and in 500 years we'll become a nation that speaks a combination of Redneck, Valley Girl, and Ebonics. I see it coming much sooner than that.

[CuatrodeMayo]

The "No problem" response doesn't bother me so much as when people say "Uh-huh" when you thank them...

[bandnerd]

Is "no worries" out too? I like using that one. [crossing fingers]

I also use this. I use it when I'm feeling more carefree.

[Pete]

A new one that you hear more and more of is "at the end of the day...". I first heard this in England about 20 years ago and now is seems like every person interviewed uses it.

Its just a way of adding words without really saying anything. "At the end of the day, you have to live with yourself." It's really just "you know", but usually added at the beginning.

[JayhawkTransplant]

A new one that you hear more and more of is "at the end of the day...". I first heard this in England about 20 years ago and now is seems like every person interviewed uses it.

Its just a way of adding words without really saying anything. "At the end of the day, you have to live with yourself." It's really just "you know", but usually added at the beginning.

YES. I know I'm going to get made fun of for this, but I happen to enjoy Jersey Shore. And for those of you who watch it, too, JWoww uses this phrase ALL THE TIME. It is truly ridiculous.

As far as 'like' and 'you know,' I think it is used because people have been conditioned to believe that having pauses in conversation/speech/thought is wrong and awkward. Instead of taking a millisecond to think and form a proper sentence, people throw in these filler words. Pausing is okay! In fact, it helps your listener digest what you're saying, too.

[MikeOKC]

Back to my dislike for "no problem"....just thought I would mention I was in Chick-Fil-A and when I said "thank you" the response was "my pleasure." They did it a 2nd time on another day and I asked if they are not allowed to say "no problem." She smiled and told me they are trained to only give one of three responses to a thank you and "my pleasure" is one of them. It was nice to feel appreciated. Teaching and training manners at a restaurant is refreshing to see.

[bandnerd]

Back to my dislike for "no problem"....just thought I would mention I was in Chick-Fil-A and when I said "thank you" the response was "my pleasure." They did it a 2nd time on another day and I asked if they are not allowed to say "no problem." She smiled and told me they are trained to only give one of three responses to a thank you and "my pleasure" is one of them. It was nice to feel appreciated. Teaching and training manners at a restaurant is refreshing to see.

I discussed the "no problem" with a teacher and a few students yesterday, and they mentioned the "my pleasure" thing at Chick-Fil-A, too.