CHAPPAQUA, NY — (Marketwired) — 03/07/16 — How articulate are you? Do filler words pepper your speech — “like,” “ya know,” “I mean,” “totally,” “so,” “whatever”? Today, Say It Media, Inc. announces LikeSo, a mobile app that acts as a personal speech coach. LikeSo offers an engaging and fun way to train against verbal habits and practice speaking articulately, confidently, and without the “like, ya know” syndrome. is now available in the App Store for iOS devices.
Recent research and a tsunami of media coverage has highlighted that increasingly lax verbal habits affect how individuals are perceived and may undermine the potential for success. The excessive use of filler words — meaningless words or phrases used to fill a pause — weaken our speech, water down our meaning and distract our listeners. Whether giving a presentation, interviewing for a job or internship, meeting with a college recruiter or business partner, or just having a conversation, poor verbal habits can make anyone sound unsure and inarticulate.
“There is a verbal epidemic that is raging through our American population and we are launching a mission to do something about it,” said Say It Media, Inc. Founder Audrey Mann Cronin. “We all want to speak in a way that compels others to listen. But when we insert too many “likes” and “ya knows,” we lessen our credibility and invite unnecessary judgment.”
Verbal tics affect both genders and people of all ages. No one is immune. The good news, however, is that verbal habits are not pathological. Like all habits, the use of filler words is behavioral and can be fixed with awareness and practice.
According to Ita Olsen, founder of Convey Clearly, “Every person you know who is a great communicator worked on it. We take music lessons, we go to the gym — we improve all aspects of ourselves. Why do we think we should be born an amazing communicator? We aren–t.”
A key contributor to this verbal tic epidemic may be linked to our addiction to mobile devices. Tethered to our smartphones, we reduce our opportunity to have articulate face-to-face conversations. And when it comes to real-time conversation, we are literally at a loss for words, and filling pauses with filler words.
“With LikeSo, we want to turn our smartphone addiction into a solution,” said Mann Cronin. “Using the most advanced voice recognition software, LikeSo offers a fun and effective way to capture and count your filler words. LikeSo helps you train against your verbal habits and practice talking on the fly. With practice, you–ll be more aware, more articulate, and more confident.”
LikeSo offers two modes of “play”: TalkAbout, a conversation game to practice talking on the fly, and FreeStyle, your own open mic. LikeSo provides users with real-time analysis of their speech fitness and calculates a score based on the number of filler words divided by the total words spoken. LikeSo also measures pacing for the fast and slow talker — with optimal pacing generally understood to be approximately 150 words per minute.
“I was inspired to create LikeSo after a confluence of conversations took place during one defining week in May of 2014,” said Mann Cronin. “First, my poised and well-spoken teenage daughter started injecting her sentences with “like,” “um,” and “ya know.” Later that week, a former colleague emailed me about his two brilliant co-workers, but that he cringed when he heard them speak on the phone and in meetings. And then — the crowning blow… My doctor, a top surgeon in her field, said that she had experienced these disempowering verbal habits, even in the operating room. She told me that instead of saying, “Scalpel,” her fellow female surgeons might say, –Would you mind, like, handing me the scalpel?– Something had to be done, and LikeSo was born.”
LikeSo is the first app from Say It Media, Inc. LikeSo was created by Audrey Mann Cronin with inspiration and input from her two chief muses, her teenage daughter, Amanda and son, Jake.
Say It Media, Inc. was founded in December 2015 by Audrey Mann Cronin, veteran consumer technology communications consultant, blogger for parenting site, , and, most notably, the mother of two teenagers. With a mission to improve our communications skills, Say It Media creates fun and engaging solutions using the latest consumer technology. LikeSo, its first mobile app, is a trademark of Say It Media, Inc. Visit us at , and on , and at LikeSoApp.
Media Contact:
Audrey Mann Cronin
Say It Media, Inc.
914-260-9651
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