Dr. Valerie Fridland shares surprising insight into why filler words and other vilified elements of speaking aren’t all that bad in the workplace. 

— YOU’LL LEARN — 

1) The surprising value of saying “Uh” and “Um” 

2) How to switch up your language to build better relationships 

3) The one word that makes you sound more convincing 

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— ABOUT VALERIE — 

Dr. Valerie Fridland is a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno. Her new book, Like Literally, Dude! Arguing for the Good in Bad English, takes a fascinating look at the history and patterns behind the modern speech habits we love to hate. She also writes a monthly blog called “Language in the Wild” for Psychology Today, is a regular guest writer for the popular Grammar Girl podcast and has a lecture series, Language and Society, available with The Great Courses.  

Her popular facing work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Nature, Entrepreneur Magazine, Psychology Today Magazine, LitHub and The Conversation. Valerie has also appeared as an expert on numerous shows and podcasts including CBS News, NPR 1A, NPR Here and Now, NPR Day to Day, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, Alan Alda’s Clear and Vivid, Newsy’s The Why, The Gist, and The Lisa Show.

• Book: "Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English" 

• Website: ValerieFridland.com 

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — 

• Article: “The Rise and Fall of ‘ZuckTalk’” by John Herrman 

• Book: "The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary" by Simon Winchester 

• Past episode: 844: The Six Words that Dramatically Increase Your Impact with Jonah Berger 

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