I posted last week that I was working on my habit of saying “right?” at the ends of sentences that don’t need them. Being interviewed for a podcast was going to give me a great opportunity to try to bring my self-awareness to bear on thus particular habit.
Well, here’s the update. I did okay. I’d give myself a B -.
In the roughly 45 minutes of the interview, I think I only used “right” in that way twice (though I won’t know for sure until I hear it). Each time, I felt it come out and couldn’t stop it; it was too late. However, I do think I used “right” probably 75 percent less than I would have if I weren’t actively trying to improve it.
The sad coda to this story is that I’ve been noticing that there are more occasions than I thought when this habit surfaces. I had thought that it was only in situations like interviews or presentations, but I heard myself do it a couple of times just a few days ago in a conversation.
My lesson here is that if I’m in monologue mode, watch out!
Right?
