Non-corporate mind-control
I've just completed an intensive course in assertive presentations at Greenpeace. It was disconcerting to discovered that my default utterance - accounting for perhaps 30% of everything I say during a difficult presentation - is 'um'.
It was also disconcerting to discover that this course may have managed to cure me of using it in just two short days. Seriously. Day one, am: a million 'um's. Day two, pm: not a single 'um'. I have the video evidence to prove it.
The loud buzzer they used any time anyone um-ed and er-ed (and the points they deducted from the person's team) may have had something to do with this. Now attach that to some jump leads, and I may divest myself of 'basically', 'actually', and 'as you can see'.
It was also disconcerting to discover that this course may have managed to cure me of using it in just two short days. Seriously. Day one, am: a million 'um's. Day two, pm: not a single 'um'. I have the video evidence to prove it.
The loud buzzer they used any time anyone um-ed and er-ed (and the points they deducted from the person's team) may have had something to do with this. Now attach that to some jump leads, and I may divest myself of 'basically', 'actually', and 'as you can see'.