Like, you know, stop using ‘like’ in, like, every sentence
COMMENTARY
Melissa Christensen

So you know how you’re all, like, “I want a good job,” and you know you have to get, like, the best internship or whatever, and you’ve got to have, like, a stellar résumé and stuff? That’s all, like, cool or whatever, but there’s, like, a little something else you need to do: Stop using the word “like” in every single sentence you speak.

While not as offensive as some other four-letter words, L-I-K-E is a devastating addition to many student vocabularies. Somehow it has infiltrated our verbal communication, virtually destroying all sensibility.

Last week, I counted one of my peer’s incessant uses of the word as she tried to ask our instructor for clarification on an assignment. Every third to fifth word in her six or seven sentences (if incomplete thoughts can be defined as sentences) was either “like” or “you know.” When she was finally done speaking, the rest of the class tried to steady their spinning heads by getting her to clarify just what she was asking to be clarified. We wasted at least 10 minutes stitching together a simple question disembodied by unnecessary interjections.

During adolescence, we use more slang than at any other time in our lives. But we’re not adolescents any more. We’re young adults who need to start learning how to sell ourselves at internships, job interviews and promotion opportunities. In order to do that, we must speak clearly and effectively.

Carolyn Ulrickson, University Career Services director, said hiring professionals are often disappointed in a student’s lack of communication skills.

“I have been engaged in conversations with several (professionals) who have indicated that they simply don’t pursue candidates who have these annoying speech habits that aren’t acceptable in the professional world,” Ulrickson said. “I suspect this is why many employment candidates with otherwise excellent credentials never make it beyond the first interviews.”

Unfortunately, the “like”-trap is a hard habit to break. Just take note of how much you and your friends use “like” in phone conversations or other casual communication. Then take note of how often your classmates use the word in class discussions. Focusing on the sheer number of times it bombards general discourse makes sitting through those conversations unbearable.

And that’s precisely where you should start to help yourself overcome what is potentially a career-deflating habit. Think before you speak. Slow down. Stop when you use one of those annoying interjections and re-state the thought in a more concise manner.

Professors would do well to help their students eliminate this bad habit by declaring one class period as a “like-free zone.” This exercise would force students to become more aware of how they present themselves. It might be uncomfortable and could reduce some of the emphasis of the day’s lesson, but the long-term benefit of students being able to express themselves more clearly certainly justifies the temporary suffering.

So if you, like, totally think that I’m way off about this subject, then, like, it’s your loss. Really. Because while your well-spoken peers are busy collecting their first paychecks, you’ll be stuck in an endless stream of fruitless first interviews. And that’s, like, not cool.

Melissa Christensen is a junior news-editorial journalism major from Grand Island, Neb.