When you start recording video and audio frequently, you need to listen to yourself a lot. Once you get over the shock of how you sound through a microphone, you start noticing the way you speak.
For my YouTube videos, I try and watch out for mistakes. Some mistakes can be edited out, others can be deleted, but with some mistakes it’s quicker to just re-record the video.
I have noticed recently that I am overusing certain words. What’s strange is that you do not notice things like this initially, but once you do, it is hard not to see it every time. For example, I noticed my parents would sometimes use the term “type thing” when talking about certain things; usually as a filler when thinking about what they are trying to say.
In my last few videos, I noticed that I was overusing the words “essentially” and “obviously”. It is maybe not something that is clear to everyone who watches those videos, but some people might pick it up.
How to Stop Overusing Certain Words
Trying to use a wider vocabulary of words during a recording can be difficult as if you are talking for a long period of time, you naturally revert back to the words that you use most frequently.
If you had to pay close attention to the way any person speaks, you will notice patterns. You will notice the way their words flow, the words they use frequently, and the words they overuse.
Impressionists look at these patterns and habits and use them to imitate famous people; however, anyone could be imitated in this way.
I believe that most of us have bad little habits when it comes to speaking. If you are publishing videos online or recording a podcast, do not get too concerned about this; at least not to the point where you do not want to record anymore.
What you should do is analyse how you speak and try and improve any bad habits you think you have. It will not happen overnight, but with enough practice you should be able to stop using certain words so frequently and improve the way you speak.
I would love to hear readers have dealt with this. What words do you use too often? Have you managed to improve the flow of your speaking over time and vary the words you use? Please leave a comment below and let me know :)
Thanks,
Kevin
