Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Round Table.
Across the world,
people are becoming unexpectedly self-conscious about something we rarely notice in real-time,
the tiny sounds and pauses and phrases that sneak into our sentences.
In the US, Google searches for filler words have searched.
In China, young professionals worry about saying 就是 然后 in meetings.
In France, 呃 has become a national punchline, and everywhere,
social media challenges people to speak with out hesitation markers.
Today we explore why filler words universal.
ancient and deeply human have suddenly become a linguistic insecurity.
And you have probably sent one yourself the polite maybe to a dinner invitation,
a text that busy or that buys time keeps your weekend open.
But new research in social psychology suggests that this tiny word carries more weight than we realize.
Across multiple studies, researchers found that people miss judge how their decision,
how their indecision, is received.
Believing they're being considerate, when in fact, maybe often feels like rejection in disguise.
How do you feel about having maybe if an answer?
Let's talk about it.
But before that.