SAY IT MEDIA’S 6 TIPS FOR PRESENTING VIRTUALLY

Presenting virtually during this pandemic has its challenges. We’re here to help! #1: Be aware of your own verbal habits: Do you say “like,” “ya know,” “so,” “totally,” etc.?  Hone in on what unnecessary words pepper your speech and work … Continue Reading

The Media Tsunami Over the Way Women Speak: 4 Camps – Who Are You Bunking With?

Whether it be an Amy Schumer parody, an NPR thoughtful “trialogue,” a linguist, doctor, student or ex-Google executive’s take, the media tsunami over whether the way women speak affects how they are perceived continues to splash up on our shores…but … Continue Reading

Actors! Casting Director Marci Liroff (Credits: “Mean Girls,” “E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial, etc.”) on Why Being Articulate, Like, Totally, Matters

Marci Liroff is a pre-eminent casting director with credits that include many of the most iconic films (and several of my all-time favorites) including E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial, Mean Girls, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Pretty in Pink, Vampire … Continue Reading

Who is, Like, in Your LikeSquad?

The way we speak is contagious and a tribal form of bonding (like, ya know, totally!). We are all so busy wanting to be part of the tribe that we don’t realize how habitual verbal crutches become – how they … Continue Reading

Giving New Meaning to “Fillerbuster”

Ever since I had the epiphany that the use of filler words are at epidemic proportions, and that an app could help us all be better speakers, I have been frustrated by the lack of words to describe this pervasive phenomenon. … Continue Reading

What is it Called When You Say “LIKE” too Much?

For my birthday, my daughter and fellow logophile gave me The Emotionary by Eden Sher, famous for her portrayal of the socially awkward and empathetic Sue Heck from TV’s, The Middle.  The Emotionary is “a dictionary of words that don’t exist for feelings that do.” … Continue Reading

You CAN Take the Valley Girl Out of the Valley! Meet Ella Michaels, USA Debate Team Member

Sixteen-year-old Ella Michaels is from the San Fernando Valley in California where Valley Girl-speak was born, and according to Ella, is still alive and well (like, totally!).  Ella also happens to be a member of this year’s USA Debate Team, … Continue Reading

SNL Debate 3 – bostonglobe.com

No, I Didn’t “LikeSo” the Debates – But, See What Happened When I “LikeSo’ed” the Eloquent Michelle Obama!

No, I didn’t “LikeSo” the Presidential debates. Honestly, I was too busy hiding my eyes behind my hands, gulping my wine, and following the Twitter feeds that somehow managed to make the consequential spectacle bearable. With the speech app, LikeSo, in … Continue Reading

“My Mom is Like…Whatever!” – Life, liberty and the inherited teenage right to speak with conviction (but can we reduce the number of “likes”? And, are we to blame?)

It is the right of every teenager to find their parents exceedingly annoying and embarrassing.  And, as parents, it is our duty to have a thick skin and to stay the course, giving them the assist, the emphatic push, the knowing … Continue Reading