Being Grammarian

31st January 2008

posted in Learning to Speak |

As Grammarian, you count the “um”s, “ah”s and “er”s speakers make throughout the evening, along with pauses, words such as “so” and “and” which speakers will overuse to buy themselves time to think. Speakers are often completely unaware they’re making these noises.

So as Grammarian you sit there with a clipboard watching for all these little mistakes.

Earlier this month, I got my first chance to try it out.

In addition to finding mistakes, it’s a good idea to look out for interesting phrases, and pretty much anything else involving clever use of language. For example, I was able to award the (worthless) accolade “best heckle” for one particularly witty outburst.

Perhaps the hardest part about being Grammarian is breaking it to them gently. Inevitably, someone will make a large number of “um”s or “er”s. If you include them all, they can end up with an um-count way ahead of their peers.

Some Grammarians like to dodge this by not being specific. They will say “Bob had a lot of ums and a couple of ahs”, rather than tell Bob he really said um 22 times in a five minute speech. (Come on, sort it out, Bob!)

I started off by reminding everyone I’m the least qualified person for the job. You need to pay attention to be Grammarian, and yet I’m so inattentive that, when I was timer, I let poor Norman talk for five minutes on a two minute table topic - because I’d forgotten to start the clock.

So, I told them, if you have a low um-count, it might be that I wasn’t paying attention. And if your um-count is high, it could just be that you were so interesting I actually took note.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Learning to Speak. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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1 On February 8th, 2008, Mary Fraser said:

Emmmm …oops don’t count that one please! That was merely a little reflective moment on my part. An interesting role that of Grammarian - last week I encountered seven ‘actually’s (actuallies?)in a three minute evaluation! I sensed a little competitive edge from Janet’s ‘actually’ speech - which was a great speech and I didn’t even notice how many times she said ‘actually’! Good job that Grammarian was there with the feedback. Ummm … wondering if there is another word for ‘actually’ just to test the Grammarian’s listening skills you understand.

M.

2 On February 27th, 2008, colin.macleod said:

Hi Mary - Oops, sorry, I meant to reply to your comment right away. Don’t know what happened there; I do so value your feedback *smiles*!

Yes, Grammarian is one of those roles it’s easy to take for granted. In fact, many of the Maidenhead Speakers Club members don’t make too many ums and ahs. I think you’re right: it’s important to look for these crutch words too.

3 On May 30th, 2008, Terry Gault said:

Thanks for the post!

The idea of a Grammarian is a good one since one of the best ways to improve upon presentations is to shed verbal filler. I refer to words and sounds such as uh, um, so, like, you know, basically, etc. These sorts of fillers make the presenter seem less articulate and less sure of themselves and their message.

Here are some techniques that you can use to shed the use of verbal filler.
1. Record yourself practicing a presentation, watch it, and count your verbal fillers. It’s painful but can fuel your determination to shed the fillers.
2. Enlist the help of those around you – your partner / spouse, friends, co-workers, family, etc. Empower them to repeat your fillers whenever they hear you using it. That can also be painful and embarrassing – even more fuel for your determination.
3. Listen for your use of verbal filler at ALL times – presenting, in conversation, on the phone, with friends, etc.
4. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Just make a mental note and remind yourself that you want to change your speech pattern.
5. Use pause instead. Focus on the behavior you want. Grow comfortable with silence. Learn to enjoy it.
6. Be willing to pause even in the middle of sentences as you struggle to think of the word that you want.
7. It’s said that you can change any behavior if you focus on it for 21 days. Put “I will use pause not filler” on your to-do list for 21 consecutive days.
8. Don’t give up! As American writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

Thanks again

4 On July 2nd, 2008, Wekie said:

Hi Colin,
I’ve truly enjoyed reading your postings and about the Club meetings in UK. They are very insightful indeed.

For the Toastmasters Clubs in Singapore, the Grammarian, is commonly known as the “Language Evaluator”. He takes note of the grammar and tenses used in the language, highlights the various language structures. He also reports on the positive words and helpful phrases spoken as well as suggests ways to improve language usage for the meeting.

In addition, in Singapore Toastmasters Club meetings, the “Ah-Counter” is the one who takes note of the pause fillers, such as ‘ah’, ‘um’, ‘you know’, ‘ok’ and others. He counts them, adds them up and gives a report of the “guilty” ones. Some local Toastmasters Clubs even institute a “little monetary penalty” to those who had too many pause fillers during the meeting.

Thank you very much for your thoughts and blog sharing. Keep up the great work and always Excel Beyond Excellence!

Warmest wishes,
Wekie
wekie.com

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