Staffs use of the word "Like"

Hey Duders,

I took about a year of from watching any giant bomb content and having come back and catching up iv'e been taken back by how often the staff use the word like, does this bother anyone else? Was it always this way and I had just never noticed before?

It puts me of listening/watching the content as I feel myself becoming dumber listening to it, what does everyone else think?

Like, everybody does it, so its never bothered me. Don't even really notice it anymore.

Like....I guess it’s just they way people talk, and with like, the influx of younger staff members, who maybe like....use the work like more, the whole teams speech might change accordingly. People tend to pick up on others speech patterns when they work (and talk) together....like....a lot ;)

Honestly, I’d not really noticed it too much (I think Ben probably says it most??), but now you have brought it up, I probably won’t be able to un-hear it, and become annoyed at them all :)

...like....

It doesn't even really, like, bother me.

I haven't noticed it being especially egregious or anything. Being so prescriptivist with language use really doesn't help anybody.

No. I probably repeat the same words a lot too, if I'd record myself talking over a day and give it a listen. Maybe if I wouldn't give a crap about what they are talking about, it would bother me.

It has bothered me outside of GB, when I've happened to glance at an interview and the person being interviewed uses something like...well, "like" before every single sentence for the whole thing.

I've noticed Alex uses it a lot. It doesn't bother me at all though, I've just noticed it.
Most people have some word that they repeat. I myself use the word "though" a lot.

Haven't noticed, would not bother me at all and certainly would not put me off watching or would not make me feel like I'm becoming dumber. Never understood how such super tiny things can put people off enjoying content, but that's just me, but we're all different so I kinda get it. I dunno, try to ignore it if you can or just get used to it. In all honesty though, I really haven't noticed it, I guess I focus more on the content of the message than the language used to convey it.

I found myself saying ‘like’ all the time when talking people I hadn’t seen for a while. Once I noticed myself doing it I tried to stop, but unless I was actively focussing on it during speech then every sentence was peppered with ‘like’.

No one else I know does it, so I couldn’t work out where I’d picked it up from, and sure enough it was the GB crew.

Once you’re aware of it, it’s a bit annoying, in others and myself.

Like, um, uh, so, I guess, but, hmm. They're all just little shit words that we use to fill in while we give our brains time to think of the next word in a sentence we are trying to say. I don't think it's anything more than that.

Dunno, watching upf and in the last 20 minutes the only "like" used was Jeff saying he liked things, which doesn't count.
Alex says it a lot, that's just his thing.

GOTY discussions are already polarising enough without removing the middle ground of just 'liking' something.

That’s just, like, your opinion, man!

l i k e

Most of the time I don't notice a lot of their quirks but for some reason on the last bombcast every "you know" from Jason stood out to me, and every "like" from Ben.

I'm sure that I'm really annoying to listen to so I can't complain.

I think it's... Fantastic

Like it or not: like it.

I tend to notice it in phases and for a brief amount of time I can get bothered by it. When that happens I just pause whatever it is than listen/watch something else and come back. When I notice it my brain actively listens for it so that really is my problem haha. Just take a break and you won’t notice it.

I notice it a lot on Abby and sometimes on Ben and Alex but not so much on the rest of the crew. But still, none of them uses "like" as much as when Danny O'Dwyer is a guest on a podcast.

I remember hearing someone repeating "like" 4 times before saying another word in one video. I think this is a record. I've turned these oft-used pet-phrases from an annoyance into a bit of a bingo-like game. Points awarded for the following unsupported openings:

"Listen...."

"In a lot of cases..."

"I mean...."

"Again, ...."

"I'm not saying ....."

You know, I love how Jeffs says "you know" everytimes he needs to think on how to conclude his sentence to fill up space/void and to come up with something that both sounds natural and compelling. Its a human thing to do.

People use the term "like" in the same vain.

Lots of filling up in my post, but thats how you can also fill up the void.

Like, this post is really dumb

I think the problem is that something so trivial bothers you that much. I honestly never even noticed it.

everyone has their verbal crutches- as a recipient your only realistic option is to deal with it. it's not likethey're going to keep a speech therapist on retainer. and drawing attention to the way someone speaks (especially when it comes to matters of style vs. comprehension) is a guaranteed way to annoy the fuck out of them.

repetition in language is occasionally bothersome for me too- but i'm not going to start a forum post declaring a moratorium on the phrase "bounce off of [game]."

Was it Jason describing some game on the last podcast? I noticed it that one time.

I "like" it

don't do this

May you never learn the verbal tic you have that people think is insufferable.

How do you feel yourself getting dumber?

Like, I'm a dog and a wizard and stuff and this is, like, fucked up. You know.

It's a rogue like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like... lite?

I've been listening to a lot of older Bombcasts recently and it seems Patrick was the first to use it a lot, with Alex being a close second, and I think it's steadily gotten worse from there, especially since the younger hires. It's most noticeable during Game of the Year debates, and also the most frustrating, because trying to argue why they feel a game belongs on a list is when they need to be their most eloquent, their most concise, in order to sell the others. (Last year's GotY discussions were downright painful at times.)

One of the things I loved about Drew is how he'd often pause mid-sentence, trying to find the right words to clearly express his thought, rather than say 'like' half a dozen times in a single sentence, frantically trying to cobble together a coherent thought. He didn't always find those words, but I appreciated the fact that he tried. Though, I imagine there are people out there who found those pauses just as distracting as the likes. So, you can't please everyone.

You either enjoy the conversations, the podcasts, the QLs, and all the other features enough to tune out those things that bother you or don't listen.

You know, uh, as a Southern California native and stuff, I'm kinda like basically immune for some reason to literally any and all of that garbage speak. I mean, it was so common to hear while I was growing up or whatever that like it's like it hardly even registers or something.

I'm always aware of it, but generally don't mind it. The only times it really bothers me is when it gets used a whooooole bunch in a short period of time, but that doesn't happen too often.

Dude, the staff is like 40% coastal California natives. Saying like too much is like one of our birthrights. Quick trying to force their diction to your hoity toity standard of English ya’ damn linguistic imperialist.

They're ostensibly professional orators, but that's not actually the case and are prone to vocal tics/habits like the rest of us.

I learned to like the nature of the word like along the way.

I've only really taken notice of it from Abby, who will sometimes use it 5+ times in a single sentence. It doesn't really bother me but I notice it. Everybody has a thing with language. I myself start sentences with "No offense, but..." on things no one would ever take offense to.

Never really noticed.

It could be worse, they could use the phrase "sort of" in every other sentence like people on waypoint and polygon do. They use it basically the same way people use the word like, but for some reason it sticks out so much more to me.

These filler words are often a sign of nervousness and considering all the new people at the site that seems like a natural side effect. However, it's more of a problem for the speakers themselves since using filler words makes you sound less intelligent. Same issue with incorrect grammar and misspellings (which you can find in this very thread). With time they will probably become less frequent, but here's a good article on the subject: A List Of Filler Words That, Like, Won’t Get You Hired. I mean I know they're already hired, but there's like, no harm in, um... improving your speech, you know?

Never noticed like. But the amount of times they say "cool" sometimes gets a bit distracting.

Context in speech I think makes a difference. When comparing apples and oranges, you would describe them as something 'like' a red fruit or an orange fruit. Usually when a staff member says 'like', they're comparing things. 'Like' can also be used as a transition between subjects (often involving a comparison). This is a verbal tic as mentioned in this thread and it's not uncommon to see 'like' used twice or more in the same sentence.

"So what's the difference between an apple and an orange?"

"So like, one is like a red fruit and the other is like an orange fruit."

^^In that sentence one is being used as kind of a filler to gather thoughts and the other two are used for comparison. Spontaneity in speech is actually quite hard esp. when you have multiple people talking during the same time. I can understand being annoyed of it during a public speech or a job interview, but I can tolerate it when there are multiple users because keeping track of thoughts in a time pressured situation where there is a lot going on in a conversation is pretty hard.

I agree, and I'm someone who gets pretty annoyed by people who overuse "like" when they are speaking. I was definitely guilty of this long ago, but I more or less broke myself of the habit and try to think about what I want to say in order to avoid it. However, I'm sure it is quite a bit different when doing a podcast and trying to prevent dead air while also managing to get a word in, so I try not to pay attention to it on the Bombcast. Sometimes I find myself fixating on the likes and have to remind myself to ignore it, otherwise it's all I will hear.

Boy, it's one of these threads again. Last time it was someone who didn't like they said uhmm or Hmmm It's probably just you making a thing out of it and noticiting it more because of it.

This again, huh.

Yeah it is obnoxious. It isn't that different than them using curses as filler words though either. Brad is especially guilty of the like thing I feel. I would think with some of these guys being effectively "writers" they could articulate better... It is also worth noting that someone pointing out a hypocrisy in the grammar and whatnot of the OP is a pretty hollow argument. There is all the difference in the world of the grammar of someone complaining on the forums vs people who basically speak for a living having trouble with basic articulation.

I would extend this complaint to some of their cursing too. I am not saying they shouldn't curse, but sometimes when they are just using the F word as some meaningless filler word it is just the same as them vocally spamming like.

Oh well! It isn't a deal breaker to me but sometimes I do skip by things when it gets really bad in videos. This is a larger problem with society right now though. I sometimes find myself guilty of this myself, although not quite as bad.