If you’ve talked with techies lately, you’ve probably noticed that they start every sentence with “so” and they end every sentence with “right?”  Not a heavy “right?!” — more of a rhetorical “right” that strikes an odd balance between confident authority and transparent self-doubt, both mashed together with a yearning for support and acceptance.  It’s like leading and following with a single inflection.  It always makes me want to interrupt and say “are you asking me or telling me?”

This isn’t new, but I used to think it was isolated to a few people I know.  It seems to have now spread to everyone on earth.  Is this just because someone told them to stop saying “um” all the time?

So, don’t get me wrong, right, because I do it too.  Even worse, I still say “um” all the time to boot.