Friday, October 5, 2012

Obama's New Language: "Uuuhhh...Ehhhh...Ahhhh..."

One of the first things we teach in public speaking (Effective Speech 100A)is that you must not say "Uhhh...ehhh...ahhh..." We mark students down for it. Seriously. "The uhhhhs," as we call it is a malady that can be easily cured. Instead of saying "uhhhhh," you simply pause. Don't let that sound come out of your mouth. But this is a lesson that Barack Obama apparently never learned -- especially when he does not have the crutch of a teleprompter. And this was very, very evident in the first debate. It makes one wonder: If he never learned one of the most elementary lessons of public speaking, how in hell did he ever get this far?

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