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Pedants' corner

Communication skills?

(43 Posts)
Cabbie21 Thu 18-Jul-24 09:00:12

I probably wouldn’t post this in any other forum, but I really don’t think it is being pedantic to bemoan poor communication skills.
I have just listened to a TV interview with an athlete going to the Olympics. In a very short clip he used
“ sort of” x 4, ( in front of clear facts )
“ you know” x 3. ( before opinions or feelings so no, we didn’t know).
I hear people unable to finish a sentence, trailing off with “ you know”, or simply a shrug and “Yeah”.
The ability to complete a whole sentence when speaking seems to be rare these days.

Aveline Sun 21-Jul-24 15:59:27

Pronounce it with a 'w' of course.

Deedaa Sun 21-Jul-24 20:50:55

When Rishi Sunak was asked questions he always started his answer with "Look" after the third or fourth time it got very annoying.

CV2020 Sun 21-Jul-24 20:54:22

I called the State Pension helpline last week. The guy who answered laughed at everything I asked/answered. Maybe he was nervous. However very offputting. Hopefully get the information requested within 30 working days! Not holding my breath to be honest.

Primrose53 Sun 21-Jul-24 21:43:52

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RosiesMaw2 Sun 21-Jul-24 22:12:00

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25Avalon Sun 21-Jul-24 22:20:31

It’s the mispronunciations that get me. I would have curled up and died of embarrassment when I was young. Now they seem completely oblivious.

Mancjules Sun 21-Jul-24 22:39:38

"Well, obviously" drives me mad. If it's that obvious we don't need an explanation!

welbeck Mon 22-Jul-24 01:20:12

Aveline

Pronounce it with a 'w' of course.

is that a joke, or am i missing something ?

welbeck Mon 22-Jul-24 01:24:53

this reminds me of the great pork / fork debate on MN.
one group asserted that these two words did not rhyme, the other were equally sure that they did.
i had visions of commuters on trains all over the uk muttering pork, fork ? in puzzled tones.

biglouis Mon 22-Jul-24 01:52:14

My pet bugbear is when someone I barely know begins a sentence with "so". It often means they are about to ask a rude personal question to which my usual response is:-

"I dont mind you asking impertinent personal questions so long as you dont mind my not answering them".

Great conversation killer that one.

M0nica Mon 22-Jul-24 01:54:44

Being a sportsman doesn't stop you benefitting from proper media training. Look at the way most professonal sportsmen, like tennis stars deal with interviews. Most of their interviews are pitch perfect. This is because they are thoroughly media trained.

Th Olympic organisers should be making sure that all their high flyers are similarly trained.

Journalism is entirely different from having media skills. You need media skills to deal with journalists and reporters.

nanna8 Mon 22-Jul-24 01:59:59

Oh yes - ‘so’. The misuse and overuse of that makes me want to scream.

Tuaim Mon 22-Jul-24 07:25:11

I dislike it when someone important is being interviewed and the interviewer keeps interrupting them and won't let them finish a sentence and then it cuts back to the news or times up. You think: Well, what was that all about apart from lots of words getting all muddled up?

Tuaim Mon 22-Jul-24 07:34:05

Primrose53

I had to ring our County Council recently who one might expect would employ professional and well spoken staff.

One lady ended our call with “no probs. Thanks hun.” I detest being called that by anyone let alone a council official.

The other lady could barely speak English and after asking her to repeat herself twice I was embarrassed for both of us. I asked her to email me instead. She did so and her written English was equally bad. She had an African name.

I was once on the 'phone to my bank about some mistake on their part and the young lady who was trying to help me was struggling on all fronts. In the end I asked to speak to the manager who had it sorted in a couple of minutes. Also, I was once in an office where a man started shouting down the 'phone: I want to speak to someone who understands me and what I want. He actually became quite irate. I've also had this language problem with people trying to take my booking for a restaurant table and not being able to understand the English alphabet or numbers to take a surname and telephone number. For me, it is actually the fault of the managers who put these staff on 'phone duties as they either need to train them or ensure their language skills are sufficient for the job. Shame on them!

Primrose53 Mon 22-Jul-24 17:13:20

RosiesMaw2

And the relevance of your final sentence is…..?

I know what you are trying to suggest but I am not playing that game.

RosiesMaw2 Mon 22-Jul-24 17:42:55

Primrose53

RosiesMaw2

And the relevance of your final sentence is…..?

I know what you are trying to suggest but I am not playing that game.

Au contraire - I think it was you who was making a point, otherwise why comment?
Would you found it equally noteworthy if they’d been called McTavish or O’Sullivan or Evans?

RosiesMaw2 Mon 22-Jul-24 17:43:57

Or indeed Ponsonby-Cholmondely-Smythe?