Someone close to me told me a few weeks ago that I use the term, "you know" a lot. I was unaware of that.

Since I was told that, I was determined to attempt to stop using the phrase, or at least be aware each time I said those two simple words.

I had to agree, once I started noticing, that it wasn't just me! Listen to just about any radio interview (I haven't heard it so much on TV, perhaps it's something known to be avoided...?)

I realized that I use this term in two distinct ways. The first way is a substitute for, "uh", or "um", a pause to gather my thoughts. The second way is if I'm actually asking the person I'm talking to whether they understood what I just said.

Of course, the second usage is acceptable, but now, if I catch myself, I say, "do you understand?" or "right?", or something.

It's amazing that I was using this phrase without even knowing it, and then once I started paying attention, I hear it ALL the time!

I would like to ask you to pay attention to yourself and others to see how common this is. If you have any insights into this, I am extremely interested. I'm looking for tactics or strategies to stop this behavior in my conversation.

So far, I still use the phrase quite a bit. I haven't broken myself of that habit, but would like to. I do catch myself when I say it, but nearly always after the fact, hardly ever in time to interrupt the behavior, you know?