A bad habit I wish Obama could break is his very frequent use of uh. I'm not trying to be mean but I

[jezebel]

think to some people it might make him look unsure. Especially because he is known for his great speeches. But when just talking he constantly uses uh in his pauses. It was really bad tonight in the Charlie Gibson (asshole)interview.

[jakem]

1. oh jeebus. this 'uh' concern again?!

:eyes:

[elehhhhna]

2. uh , duly noted, my friends

[Labors of Hercules]

26. BWAH!!!

*spew* :spray:

[panader0]

3. I agree. I think it is because he is trying to be very careful

about what he says. But it is annoying.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kstewart33]

7. Oh man, come on now.

He does use 'uh' too much. In this single respect, he reminds me of Bush.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. You think Bush talks like a professor?

:shrug:

[Whisp]

30. LOL!

zing!

[jenmito]

11. HE, unlike BUSH, is THINKING while speaking and follows his "uhs" with intelligent responses. n/t

[Virginia Dare]

67. That's the way it appears to me..

he's not just parroting off a teleprompter, which is what we're used to. The words are actually coming out of his brain. It seems MORE natural to me.

[kstewart33]

5. I agree. I also wish he would speak more directly.

He talks like a professor, and as a retired prof, I'm very familiar with the wordage.

Too wordy, too many prepositions. He needs to speak more efficiently, using fewer words, and he'll be easier for everyone to understand.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

63. LOL!!! That would be ME. I'm always a tired professor but I don't use "uh" that much...

I think... :shrug:

[undeterred]

6. Listen to Mike Malloy sometime.

Even for someone with years of experience speaking in public, this is not an easy habit to break.

[cherokeeprogressive]

27. Or Randi. My fiance and I sometimes get to giggling when she hesitates and wind up

having to change the station or drive off the road.

[undeterred]

42. There are a lot of people in radio who "uh"

but if what they have to say is worth it, you get over it. In television, you have to be a lot smoother.

[Schema Thing]

8. It's actually a sign of intelligence

it gives him time to think about what he is going to say next. He could lose the "uhs" and speak much faster, but he would no doubt have to give pat, stock, scripted answers to everything (which is how many politicians do it; they simply won't answer a new or slightly different question, but rather reframe the question and go right back to a scripted answer).


I really appreciate that Obama truly answers questions, and does it thoughtfully.

[TheDonkey]

13. He needs to learn how to just pause and not say "uh"

it is a problem that he should work on and most likely realizes.

[jezebel]

16. Yes, this is what I was trying to say. Thank you. nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Agreed. A pause is better. I'm surprised he didn't get groomed out of that a long time ago.

[Whisp]

31. I know, it's a shame this habit has kept him from being taken seriously

in politics.

:P

[Schema Thing]

36. ;)

[cherokeeprogressive]

28. Pause, for effect. n/t

[Whisp]

48. well in my family a pause is an invitation to get interrupted.

better to fill it with uhs. :)

[Raine]

57. Same in mine...

you've got to talk fast or fill in with "uhs" if you want to get it all out before being cut off. :yoiks: :D

[Schema Thing]

37. Yeah yeh, that's the "rule"

In real life, that can be as uncomfortable for the listener as it is for the "pauser". Because the reality is, he's *not* intentionally "pausing". Therefor he should not pepper his speeches with intentional "pauses" just to avoid an "uh". It would frankly be weird, and what would happen, and does happen, is that speakers simply then rely on scripted answers, rather than leaving uncomfortable silence gaps.


He's doing just fine.

[JerseygirlCT]

43. I agree.

And I don't much mind "uh".

What drives me up a wall though are those who insist on sprinkling "you know" and "like" into every conversation!

[TrogL]

10. You should have heard Trudeau speak

Possibly Canada's greatest Prime Minister, he would give long, philsophical speeches punctuated by what I called a "continuence tone", not really an "uh" but just a held note indicating that he continued to want to speak. I suspect in his case it was a French-speaking thing.

People are tired of "just plain folks" leaders. Let's have somebody with some actual brain power run things for awhile.

[PatSeg]

12. It is a bad habit

but I have noticed that he has gotten better. Personally I find the excessive use of "uh" very distracting in anyone. It is especially annoying in television news people whose career is speaking publicly on a daily basis.

[nc4bo]

14. Better O's uh's than mcelmer's d'uh's. nt

[MoJoWorkin]

15. I guess you are too young to remember JFK?

He was constantly saying ah ah ah and er er er when responding to questions, especially at pressers. It is a way to buy time to formulate careful responses. It is just another way that Obama is like JFK---thoughtful and deliberate.

[tridim]

17. Yea, Rush has the same concern.

Not calling you out, just stating a fact.

[TheCowsCameHome]

20. Rush stutters like Porky Pig

and looks like him, too.

[kskiska]

51. Someone should put together a tape of Rush's stutters

and send it to KO.

[TheCowsCameHome]

60. That would be good. He does have a genuine speech problem

aside from the fact his mouth is too big for his pea-sized brain.

[Peacetrain]

18. We do that all the time in the midwest, even more so in

Minnesota.. the old habit our Mothers went after us with.. Think before you speak. I do it all the time myself. I know it can be annoying to someone not used to it. Its just who we are. I live in Iowa and my hubby is a Minnesotan.. Uff duh, ya sure by golly.

[rebel with a cause]

34. I've said that so much that I was just going to let it ride this time.

Yes in the mid-west we do use 'uh' a lot when pausing to think. Illinois here, and it does not bother me at all. My daughter complains but then she would. ;)

[Peacetrain]

44. UHH we who we are

Yep my uncle lives in Illinois, and "well" (another great pause think word)"uhh" I never notice it myself till "uhh" someone points it out ;)

[rebel with a cause]

50. "well" is probably my favorite one to use.

I use it all the time and have had to learn not to follow it with "actually", which means I'm thinking about correcting or adding on to what has been said. I'm an awful "know it all" and I know it, which makes me a true "know it all". At least that is what they tell me. :D

Actually I know I don't know it all, but come across as one. Oh, my goodness that just makes me more of a "know it all" than ever. Well actually.....:rofl:

[Peacetrain]

56. how about.. "if the truth be known... actually"

what was that old Kurt Vonnegut chestnut.."I'm a Hoosier, you're' a Hoosier".. look out Washington, here comes the Midwest. Now if we can get all our congresspeople, to stop and think before they blurt something out..


"Mr. Speaker...uhhhhhh":rofl:

[jane_pippin]

19. After 8 years of listening to George trying to spit out a sentence I'll take it.

Not to mention his demonesque little "heh heh heh's" and other assorted verbal nonsense.

I see where you're coming from, but I just don't care. It's...uh...change I can...uh...believe in! :D

[polichick]

21. At least it buys him time to think before speaking...

I'm glad he's cautious in what he says, since everything gets spun.

[Thrill]

22. Most Lawyers do that. Particularly in meetings. Its thinking before you speak

[Arkansas Granny]

23. It is an annoying habit and something that we were taught not to do in high school speech class.

A pause, without the uh, would be better.

[Schema Thing]

39. everything you learned in school is wrong.

:P~

[uponit7771]

24. I hear you but after 8 years of fuckin stupid Obama can say what he wants honestly.

[Whisp]

29. I don't even notice anymore, and can't figure why it's a big deal

lots of pols do this - Hillary was even worse.
the uhs are not important, the words in between are.

[woolldog]

54. actually Hillary doesn't do that.

She was fantastic about off the cuff answers without pausing or saying uh.

Frankly, I'm a little suspicious about people with that kind of ability.

[Whisp]

68. I've heard her 'uh' a lot of times in her speeches.

short off the cuffs are a bit different that full out speeches. Usually snappy retorts are memorized for whatever occassion comes up to use them so there's not much thinking to do, just memorizing, so therefore they are usually 'uhless'.

;)

[Rob H.]

32. He can say "uh" as often as he likes, afaic

I'd trade a lifetime's worth of Obama's "uh"s if it meant I'd never have to hear another moronic word out of der Chimpenführer's cakehole again.

[Not the Only One]

33. I have a tip

My college public speaking prof said to say "ahhh" in place of "uhhh" if you have to say "uhhh," because the former doesn't strike people as a sign of low intelligence like the latter does.

[rucky]

35. It doesn't bother me.

as much as someone who doesn't say it because he's not thinking. (uh...McCain)

[AlCzervik]

38. uh, um ok.

[Motown_Johnny]

40. I suppose if he needs a minute he could eat a Twix, but he would gain a lot of weight by nov.

[Lisa0825]

41. It used to bother me.

But the more I began to like him, the less I noticed it. But I do understand what you mean.

[LeftyMom]

45. He probably doesn't know he's doing it. My speech teacher used to just raise a finger each time.

Once people catch themselves doing it, they stop pretty quickly.

Don't law students do debating? He should have learned that there.

[rusty_parts2001]

46. He needs to go to Toastmasters.

They have "uh" counters and if you start listening for them you will notice how many politicians use it. Probably it has never been brought to his attention. Once you are aware of it, you stop or at least reduce using it as a crutch.

[Tim4319]

47. If I were him I would be careful too!

The way the media is on his every word and waiting on him to make a verbal mistake, I'd say "uh" too just to collect my thoughts for the next sentence.

How would people react if he were to say something that could be easily taken out of context, and for the next 3 weeks will be the lead story. He has his thoughts, it is just putting them together so that they won't be taken the wrong way. I believe he has to be careful that way.

[annabanana]

49. It is SO MUCH BETTER than having someone speak without thinking

at all. This small verbal tic just reminds me of that.

[Hutzpa]

55. lol!

are you thinking what I'm thinking....



:evilgrin:

[AtomicKitten]

52. He's thinking .... That's a good thing.

[Hutzpa]

53. I'm not surprise by this type of advice

after listening to Commander Joker for 8 years talk gibberish
ofcoure you will get confused with an eloquent speaker by not
understanding that well educated people speak like that because
they are expose to multiple vocabulary at the same time and have
to choose the right word of response for the question being asked,
also you want your listener to understand your point in depth.

Hope this helps....

[WinkyDink]

61. "well educated people speak like that." "Uh" is not a defining characteristic. It means one needs to

remain silent while thinking.

"UH" is why I cannot abide Brian williams or (Chef) Alton brown.

It's Speech 101, FGS.

[CreekDog]

58. yeah, JFK did that too

:eyes:

[CreekDog]

59. Funny this becomes a big issue for you today the same day it goes up on Rush's website

just funny, that's all.

(i don't mean to accuse, but to feed the frenzy right at the moment the right wing is trying to make this into an issue it's just bad timing).

it would be like if after that debate between Gore and Bush when all of Bush's nonanswers took second place to Gore's "sighs" and that was when we all chose to have a nice discussion about how Gore sighs too much.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

62. I must admit that it can be annoying sometimes. It makes him come off as unsure.

If it was one thing Hillary is brilliant at is speaking confidently especially when explaining policy positions during a debate. I may not have agreed with her on a number of issues, but she is a very articulate and "quick on her feet" when it comes to speaking. I think Obama has to work on this more. The good news is that McSame is a horrible speaker so that gives Obama some cover. But yes, I could count the number of pauses and "uhs" when discussing specific policies and it makes him appear as if he doesn't know what he really wants to say. It's definitely something that he needs to work on.

[GalleryGod]

64. He's THINKING..I know it's been a long time.

Not to worry.......

[mwb970]

65. If *this* is O's biggest problem then we're, uh, good to go! /nt

[okieinpain]

66. I agree that he uses it too much, but you have to admit he has

to be very careful with every word that comes out of his mouth. people will even take words and say that he was implying something, so I can understand that he is trying to be very very careful with every word.

[Virginia Dare]

69. It's better than listening to MY FRIENDS this and MY FRIENDS that..

every other fucking word....:argh:

[Alter Ego]

70. It's the sign of a man who knows the media is out to get him.

He thinks very carefully about everything he says to avoid saying anything that could potentially be taken out of context.

When he gets into rhythm on a topic he loses the 'uh's.