How we speak is influenced by many factors, including where we’re from, how we were raised, and how much education we have. Most people tend to speak with much less formality when talking to friends and family. We use our natural dialect, fillers, gaps, and different patterns because we are talking to people who are very familiar to us. Usually, they get what we’re saying without us actually saying anything. However, language prejudice is a reality for black society. We are judged on how we MAY speak in many cases before we open our mouths to say one word. Just as people judge others by the clothing they wear, they often judge language and speech patterns. For example, individuals with a southern drawl may initially appear to others as mentally slower and individuals with an accent not original to the U.S. seem more exotic to the ear and worldlier in general.
We need to be aware of how we use our words when speaking to prospective employers or in conversations when we’re trying to conduct business. The overuse of certain speech patterns and fillers such as “um”, “like”, “you feel me”, “you know what I mean”, “ain’t”, and “naw” are verbal crutches we should not use when speaking to someone who may not know us well. When we use overuse verbal crutches, people tend to focus on these errors and ignore what we’re actually saying. They will perceive you as less intelligent or ignorant and may ignore or give less weight to the subject you’re actually talking about and devalue your opinion and credibility. An employer will re-consider hiring you for certain positions, and if they do, your customers may be relegated to serve other black customers or those who speech compares to your own.
The best way to stop using excessive verbal crutches and lazy words is to just pause for a few seconds. Often, verbal crutches and fillers are used to mentally find the words to what we’re trying to say. Verbal crutches give us time to collect our thoughts. Pause for a few seconds if you need a moment. If you need to fill the gap, a simple “Let me think about that for a second” will work well if you’re asked a question you don’t have an immediate answer to. Another way to buy yourself time is to repeat the question back to them instead of drawing out an “um”. When you need to make a good impression, everything counts – including your speech.