In my experience as a broadcast media professional. I have found that it is okay to look stupid but sounding stupid or saying something stupid is different. I offer as an example, if you point a TV camera at a football crowd they go crazy, they act the donkey, they whoop, holler, make funny faces, and offer hand gestures usually reserved for rap videos.

If you take that same group of people and point just a microphone at them they will back away, use hand signals that say leave me alone, they will actually turn and run away. Why is this the case? It's because one can act stupid and still maintain they aren't stupid, however, when you open your mouth and start to talk it confirms your lack of mental prowess.

According to a website called FirstToKnow,  what you say and how you say it does tip off others to your intelligence. In fact they suggest that you should cut these five words out of your speech habits because "they make you sound stupid." Get ready to cringe because we all use at least some of these words in our normal speech

1.) Actually. Apparently this word is used to add an extra "punch" to a thought or sentence. It is only suppose to be used to represent something that is present or exists in reality.
2.) Basically. Just like "Actually," it is used to add extra "punch" to a sentence. It should only be used to simplify something complicated.
3.) Honestly. I use this one a lot. I know people like to say "honestly" when they are expressing how they really feel about something, but it actually means everything we said up to that point was dishonest or fabricated.
4.) Like.  It is often over-used and can be a bit aggravating. This word goes hand in hand with "um" and "uh" way too much. Let's especially cut this one out.
5.) Literally. This word only applies to something that is 100% true and not exaggerated. What we should be saying in place of "literally" is "figuratively." I can't see myself saying "figuratively" the Saints have been sucking  By the way, If you want to see how annoying using the word "Literally" can be, watch this:

 

 

 

 

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