“I Think Therefore I Am.” – Rene Descartes – Discourse on Method
It is my contention that the American English language is being dumbed down at an alarming rate. And the proof of this is quite apparent in listening to a news cast or any politician, including our new President.
The word that bothers me most is when the word “think” is used. It is used to the point of being epidemic. Didn’t anyone take Speech in school??? If they had, they would have quickly discovered that beginning any thought with the opening “I think” would get you rapped on the knuckles with a ruler!
I am not a seasoned orator, but I did take several “speech” classes in college (I believe they have some other euphemism for it now, like oral communications, or something like that.) And there are some general points for arguing your point of view.
If the information you are discussing is of an antidotal nature you might want to say “It is my belief that…” not “I think that…”. If the information is open to interpretation, you might want to say “As I understand it…”. If you’re speaking about hard evidence you should say, “As it was told to me…” or, “as the report said…”, not “ I think it said…”.
“It is my opinion…” works if you have an original thought – many people don’t particularly politicians. The word “consideration” works well if you’ve actually done that; “I have considered all the options”, not “I have thought about all the options.” Eliminate the prepositions above all, whenever possible.
And of course the cope out; “I’ll have to think about that…” rather than “Let me review the facts on that”.
Anyway, that’s all I have to think about this topic!
Cheers.
It is my contention that the American English language is being dumbed down at an alarming rate. And the proof of this is quite apparent in listening to a news cast or any politician, including our new President.
The word that bothers me most is when the word “think” is used. It is used to the point of being epidemic. Didn’t anyone take Speech in school??? If they had, they would have quickly discovered that beginning any thought with the opening “I think” would get you rapped on the knuckles with a ruler!
I am not a seasoned orator, but I did take several “speech” classes in college (I believe they have some other euphemism for it now, like oral communications, or something like that.) And there are some general points for arguing your point of view.
If the information you are discussing is of an antidotal nature you might want to say “It is my belief that…” not “I think that…”. If the information is open to interpretation, you might want to say “As I understand it…”. If you’re speaking about hard evidence you should say, “As it was told to me…” or, “as the report said…”, not “ I think it said…”.
“It is my opinion…” works if you have an original thought – many people don’t particularly politicians. The word “consideration” works well if you’ve actually done that; “I have considered all the options”, not “I have thought about all the options.” Eliminate the prepositions above all, whenever possible.
And of course the cope out; “I’ll have to think about that…” rather than “Let me review the facts on that”.
Anyway, that’s all I have to think about this topic!
Cheers.
After eight years of Bubba-speak you are complaining! At least this one THINKS. Hugs, Magi
ReplyDelete"It is my belief" that this phrase is not an "antidote" but ancedotal evidence of how spell-check dumbs down everyone!
ReplyDelete