The vice-presidential debate
Like many Canadians, I curiously watched the broadcast of the vice-presidential debate between Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Gov. Sarah Palin last Thursday night. While I was watching, I was wishing that I could give Governor Palin one tiny bit of advice. I would like to delete one word from Palin ’s vocabulary. No, it’s not the word betcha, a word with a dropped g (like goin ' or somethin ') or the term maverick. I would tell Palin to stop using the word also . Palin says also approximately 50 times during the course of the debate, and approximately 50 times the word is unnecessary. This filler word weakens her key statements. Take a closer look at the debate transcript and you'll see what I mean. Even though Palin probably has access to some of the best speechwriters in the world and is well-coached on her key messages -- the best writers cannot prevent her from sneaking filler words into her spoken delivery. We all use filler words or verbal pauses in our langua...