Sad to see the comments where so many people didn't get it. Speaking in a declarative tone about beliefs or ideas you have is good. It doesn't mean that you will never question those beliefs, or have a closed mind, it just means that you currently believe them. It is ok to use a questioning tone when you are genuinely uncertain. The trend has been to use a questioning tone even when making declarative statements which communicated that you don't actually believe what you are saying. It would be the equivalent of putting question marks at the end of every sentence. It will communicate to people that you have no true ideas beliefs or convictions and nothing to offer. Speaking in a questioning tone constantly doesn't indicate open mindedness, but empty mindedness.
I love this poem, another awesome poem by Taylor Mali. I love the way he breaks down the use of language in this one. It's so intelligent and thought out.
Just when you thought it was safe to be a mid-ranged poet. Real words and thoughts have been reintroduced! Thank you Taylor Mali!!! It was more than necessary
I am a corporate executive chef and I often cater meetings and listen in. People in the corporate world now, sound like frat boys and sorority girls instead of professionals. "So..." is how these people begin almost every sentence and the word "like" shows up everywhere. This dude is right.
I'm a teacher at Vandegrift High School, and today the principal told me "from now on you need to say yes ma'am and just do what you're told" - it made me think of this video that I showed to my debate students. We loved your speech.
I remember how I felt bad in middle school for showing more intelligence. I spoke properly, and someone would point it out as if it's unusual or looked down upon. It makes sense how one would dislike a smart person, because they can see the smart person as pompous. Many people who lack intelligence end up taking pride in the bad things they do. Truth is, no one should look down upon anybody. We're all humans, and we should all work hard at improving ourselves and help others.
this is so true in today's society. I am sad to say I have fallen victim to the 'like' s and ya know's etc, etc, that most of my age's population has turned to. This poem opened my eyes a touch
This video has severely changed how I listen to speech. It now, even more than before, saddens me when sentences are littered with "like" and "literally". I wish everyone I had the pleasure of speaking to had seen this video, it is such a hard-hitting flick.
Mr. Mali is a Master and a Artist of the highest regard...We are lucky to be alive in the same season as this Exceptional Man of Poetry...Buddy Wakefield and him should do a show together and show the world Poetry...
This video has definetly sent a message by its own generation for us to consider the way in which we are communicating in society today. Are we getting our messages across? Are we articulating well enough to create and sustain successful relationships in business, family or with our peers? These are questions this video poses and they are great questions which challenge us to look further at ourselves and our methods of learning.
this is something i have both identified and am guilty of so it is great to hear someone talk about it on stage. the uk is somewhat less struck by this than the states, but unfortunately we're getting there
love this shit. i love the way he expresses himself. the point was well put on how to speak with conviction. i will accept the challenge to speak with conviction and to say what i believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which i believe it!!!
I get very very vexed when otherwise intelligent people make the massive massive mistake of doubling many many adjectives/adverbs. It really really ticks me off so so much. Inanywayshapeorform, does it kindalike annoy anyone else, or am I basically the Lone Ranger on this one?
Umm, *HUGE* yes! Had a friend of mine get on this bandwagon a few years ago, and I wondered what had happened. Being aggressive to the point of attacking isn't good, but man, say what you believe, brother!
I've always wished for a commanding voice and tone like his...he is the ultimate public speaker, it would be fucking awesome if I could learn to master elocution like he has, it is a vital talent that is often taken for granted. You could truly rule the world with such a skill.
I've lived in 6 different states, met people from all over the country from school/military, never have I met anyone like that. It reminds me of an 80s comedy movie character.
One of the single greatest pieces of spoken word of the 21st century…and I don’t care if you agree or not. Speak with conviction 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
The rise in intonation at the end of a sentence is called the High Rising Terminal, or "uptalk". Language is constantly changing and uptalk is basically just a new adaptation it has taken on, for more reasons than hesitance. There some a fairly interesting articles about it if you google it.
this was shared in my 9th grade english class and countless people didn't understand why the audience was laughing. This is basically common sense. Society today is filled with people that explain or talk about something as if it were a question rather than a statement. Saying "like" after almost every word and putting "you knows" to confirm the other person knows what your saying. At my age I do this(and that's ok) but I'm certain it won't last when in I'm in my 30's
I show this to a lot of my friends who speak like that, sadly nearly everyone talks like this now-a-days though. Seriously everyone, speak with some damn conviction.
We watched this video in my Communication Arts Class today. After the vid, the class talked about it, and my classmates couldn't stop saying "like" in their sentences :)
We use to have to do a sketch in 5th grade and I still remeber a teacher saying that the year before a girl had used "like" over 60 times in 3 minutes. :)
he is right. we have no conviction. we don't believe anything anymore, everyday we find out we were wrong about this or that or that older ppl have lied to us more than we thought.
The gap between what we know and what we can know is so large now, and becomes so much larger every day, that the only proper method of communication is uncertainty. People can be proved wrong at any second, so they couch all of their statements in qualifiers as to not seem certain, because they aren't. We're finally beginning to understand how little we actually know, and it's reflecting on our daily speech. It's progress.
LOL... Is it like bad to say i like this story? LOL i love this man! his poems are so real and wished he was my teacher when i was in high school and or college.
This is awesome! Finally, another person who agrees with me. It seems that every time I sit next to a group of young women, they say the words "like", and "you knows?" every other words. Those are the women I don't date. lol
I like how you handled this respondent, very well in my opinion; it's difficult to deal with those that are like "you are this and you are that". I dislike aggression such as that shown by GrimmPumpkin..
I was just talking about that in my Reporting Class today. The book tells you to use simple language like for example "About vs. Approximately" or "Built vs. Constructed" &c. and I had to question this because I believe journalists have, on top of their responsibility to report facts, also the responsibility to educate the reader with the use of the English language. If they never use these "more than three syllables" words, how will the reader ever know what the word "approximately" means?
1. yes 2. His sole was fried and served with lemon , his soul shows proudly threw his words 3. Points should be sharp and cutting and ,thus, most often brief not not dulled and belabored. 4. A pedagog perhaps but parish pedantic. This truth about wavering convictions rings loud and speaks to the majority and those whom have forgotten how to temper their words with conviction.
@c16sh1 I agree. I think another aspect of it is that teenagers were raised in a culture obsessed with political correctness. They are so afraid of being labeled --as racy, ignorant, pushy-- before they can finish their thought, simply because their opinions might open themselves up to someone else's derision. So they inject it with a healthy amount of uncertainty, and no one is offended and everyone stays happy.
@IHaveAPodXTLive I had to go back and listen to the video twice because I didn't think I had heard any aspersions cast upon any particular generation, let alone the younger one. As someone in the way older generation, I hear this kind of saying nothing from everyone around me, except for those in my mother's generation. Usually, when some one asks me, "You know?" I'm startled because, I'm still waiting for them to say something important. It DOES give us something to say when we forget.
(part 1) Sometimes, it is beneficial to speak with ignorance, because if one is willing take the criticism and learn from it, and later modify that opinion to make it like less vulnerable and keyed in with the information provided by others, the harder will it be for it to be doubted. And there are many ways an opinion can be strengthened and sharpened. And presented fairly too, no tricks or making analysis of it difficult.
(part 1) It depends what arrogance and humility mean. I've a feeling those words can mean different things to different people and the dictionary only goes so far, not with the exactness that it can present objective proof of such concepts, the justification for why one is deemed eternally wrong and the other eternally right with real life examples of the operation and consequence of them.
"...I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions. I'm just, like, inviting you to join me on the bandwagon of my own uncertainty...?" Hahaha. Love it.
well i dont know if anyone has noticed this but "the assault on human language" is also used whenever you don't capitalize, add caps, "rofl", etc. therefore we shouldn't be harsh on those who use "y'know, like"....just pointing out inconsistencies...oh and by the way, i use this slang because it's become natural for me from the environment in which i live in, not the education i receive which is adequate.
And part of the problem with society today is that we don't believe in the concept of truth anymore. We're so wishy washy and "everyone has their own truth" that we don't even believe "our" truth anymore because there are so many other "truths". People who speak with any sort of conviction or belief are shot down because their ideals might offend some or another group and are therefore invalid to a discussion. We have become afraid to declare truth, even in the smallest of things.
@c16sh1 Good point. As a 15 year old in 10th grade. That grammer is used alot with my generation. We really don't hold our own opinions and will say what ever will make us feel accepted.
I was introduced to this video in an English literature class in 2009. Taylor Mali's words have resounded in my thinking from that time forward.
"I'm just asking you to join me on the bandwagon of my own uncertainty". SO true. I love it.
Sad to see the comments where so many people didn't get it. Speaking in a declarative tone about beliefs or ideas you have is good. It doesn't mean that you will never question those beliefs, or have a closed mind, it just means that you currently believe them. It is ok to use a questioning tone when you are genuinely uncertain. The trend has been to use a questioning tone even when making declarative statements which communicated that you don't actually believe what you are saying. It would be the equivalent of putting question marks at the end of every sentence. It will communicate to people that you have no true ideas beliefs or convictions and nothing to offer. Speaking in a questioning tone constantly doesn't indicate open mindedness, but empty mindedness.
Thanks for helping me in my homework
I love this poem, another awesome poem by Taylor Mali. I love the way he breaks down the use of language in this one. It's so intelligent and thought out.
Are u a life now man
@@abdallabaar2664 fr
Whenever I catch myself saying "like" every other word, I come back to this video.
This has to be one of the most inspiring things I've heard in a long time. Opinionated people beware, this man speaks with authority.
Just when you thought it was safe to be a mid-ranged poet. Real words and thoughts have been reintroduced! Thank you Taylor Mali!!! It was more than necessary
I am a corporate executive chef and I often cater meetings and listen in. People in the corporate world now, sound like frat boys and sorority girls instead of professionals. "So..." is how these people begin almost every sentence and the word "like" shows up everywhere. This dude is right.
I'm a teacher at Vandegrift High School, and today the principal told me "from now on you need to say yes ma'am and just do what you're told" - it made me think of this video that I showed to my debate students. We loved your speech.
Excellent. Loved it. He says in a short video what I've been trying to tell my clients in my seminars and books.
I remember how I felt bad in middle school for showing more intelligence. I spoke properly, and someone would point it out as if it's unusual or looked down upon. It makes sense how one would dislike a smart person, because they can see the smart person as pompous. Many people who lack intelligence end up taking pride in the bad things they do. Truth is, no one should look down upon anybody. We're all humans, and we should all work hard at improving ourselves and help others.
This comment was made 8 years ago, and yet it still didn't get the likes it deserves after all its time.
this is so true in today's society. I am sad to say I have fallen victim to the 'like' s and ya know's etc, etc, that most of my age's population has turned to. This poem opened my eyes a touch
This video has severely changed how I listen to speech. It now, even more than before, saddens me when sentences are littered with "like" and "literally". I wish everyone I had the pleasure of speaking to had seen this video, it is such a hard-hitting flick.
Sociology sent me here. I'm from the year 2019. meep beep beep meep
I can say for sure to stay the heck out of 2020
@@legendling5990 2021 isn’t any better.
year 2025 😀
My drama teacher showed this to us today I had to go back and look at it because it is awesome.
Glad that this is in my English III class! Because I would have, like, never found it otherwise.
You know!
my language arts teacher sent me here.... & i love her for it! this is funny af
Gossipgirlx0 my language arts teacher sent me here
Gossipgirlx0 same here, you know?
Same
I love that term: Aggressively inarticulate. Resounding.
Mr. Mali is a Master and a Artist of the highest regard...We are lucky to be alive in the same season as this Exceptional Man of Poetry...Buddy Wakefield and him should do a show together and show the world Poetry...
This video has definetly sent a message by its own generation for us to consider the way in which we are communicating in society today. Are we getting our messages across? Are we articulating well enough to create and sustain successful relationships in business, family or with our peers? These are questions this video poses and they are great questions which challenge us to look further at ourselves and our methods of learning.
this is something i have both identified and am guilty of so it is great to hear someone talk about it on stage. the uk is somewhat less struck by this than the states, but unfortunately we're getting there
I am so in love with this man's poetry, and I am also in love with Def Poetry Jam!
Yessss. I am from Arizona and living in New Zealand. Most Kiwis end all their sentences like questions and it drives me nuts.
I can't stop watching this. Always come back to it.
lol this guy was at my school today i bought his CD and Book, He is so amazing Live!
This guy has a gift, and something to say. Always a winning combination!
Taylor is one of a kind…
It's 2020. And it's still relevant
This is, like, you know poetry, .but like, funnier, you know, like cool, you know what i'm saying?
+SaketG lol love it almost as funny as the vid you know?
I think this needs a another spotlight right now in 2020
love this shit. i love the way he expresses himself. the point was well put on how to speak with conviction. i will accept the challenge to speak with conviction and to say what i believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which i believe it!!!
I get very very vexed when otherwise intelligent people make the massive massive mistake of doubling many many adjectives/adverbs. It really really ticks me off so so much. Inanywayshapeorform, does it kindalike annoy anyone else, or am I basically the Lone Ranger on this one?
Me and the English class boys are chilling on this video
Umm, *HUGE* yes! Had a friend of mine get on this bandwagon a few years ago, and I wondered what had happened. Being aggressive to the point of attacking isn't good, but man, say what you believe, brother!
Yeah! Say what you believe strongly, rather than actually taking the time and intellectual effort to PROVE it.
This is , like, you know -- really good.
i was going to upload this clip so thanks for doing it for me...Season 2 is great.
I've always wished for a commanding voice and tone like his...he is the ultimate public speaker, it would be fucking awesome if I could learn to master elocution like he has, it is a vital talent that is often taken for granted. You could truly rule the world with such a skill.
"It's not enough to question authority, you gotta speak with it."
I've lived in 6 different states, met people from all over the country from school/military, never have I met anyone like that. It reminds me of an 80s comedy movie character.
One of the single greatest pieces of spoken word of the 21st century…and I don’t care if you agree or not. Speak with conviction 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
i am in shock.
I just read a youtube conversation that was articulate, peaceful and gave me insight.
Thanks guys.
He once came to our public library and that day, I witnessed something that truly spectacle
It was amazing how presented his poetry
Rings even truer today. I love this.
The rise in intonation at the end of a sentence is called the High Rising Terminal, or "uptalk". Language is constantly changing and uptalk is basically just a new adaptation it has taken on, for more reasons than hesitance. There some a fairly interesting articles about it if you google it.
Beyond epic! I freaking love it!
He came to my school and everyone was in awe. He is the man.
this was shared in my 9th grade english class and countless people didn't understand why the audience was laughing. This is basically common sense. Society today is filled with people that explain or talk about something as if it were a question rather than a statement. Saying "like" after almost every word and putting "you knows" to confirm the other person knows what your saying. At my age I do this(and that's ok) but I'm certain it won't last when in I'm in my 30's
I show this to a lot of my friends who speak like that, sadly nearly everyone talks like this now-a-days though.
Seriously everyone, speak with some damn conviction.
That was dope and real
We watched this video in my Communication Arts Class today. After the vid, the class talked about it, and my classmates couldn't stop saying "like" in their sentences :)
We use to have to do a sketch in 5th grade and I still remeber a teacher saying that the year before a girl had used "like" over 60 times in 3 minutes.
:)
he is right. we have no conviction. we don't believe anything anymore, everyday we find out we were wrong about this or that or that older ppl have lied to us more than we thought.
saw this guy on youtube in english class. Thanks Mr. Rapien!
LOL! @'Have they been ,like, chopped down with the rest of the rain forest? You know?'. That was funny and on point.
-A
Absolutely freaking brilliant!?
@JokeeGA5 Good to know that at least SOMEONE out there is protecting the integrity and intelligence of America's media. Thank you for this.
I used to watch this all the time. Do this show still come on?
If the janitor from Scrubs did spoken word…
The gap between what we know and what we can know is so large now, and becomes so much larger every day, that the only proper method of communication is uncertainty. People can be proved wrong at any second, so they couch all of their statements in qualifiers as to not seem certain, because they aren't.
We're finally beginning to understand how little we actually know, and it's reflecting on our daily speech. It's progress.
Great crowd. Nice slam.
LOL... Is it like bad to say i like this story? LOL i love this man! his poems are so real and wished he was my teacher when i was in high school and or college.
This is awesome! Finally, another person who agrees with me. It seems that every time I sit next to a group of young women, they say the words "like", and "you knows?" every other words. Those are the women I don't date. lol
I like how you handled this respondent, very well in my opinion; it's difficult to deal with those that are like "you are this and you are that". I dislike aggression such as that shown by GrimmPumpkin..
I was just talking about that in my Reporting Class today. The book tells you to use simple language like for example "About vs. Approximately" or "Built vs. Constructed" &c. and I had to question this because I believe journalists have, on top of their responsibility to report facts, also the responsibility to educate the reader with the use of the English language. If they never use these "more than three syllables" words, how will the reader ever know what the word "approximately" means?
This is very true and i love this poem :)
1. yes
2. His sole was fried and served with lemon , his soul shows proudly threw his words
3. Points should be sharp and cutting and ,thus, most often brief not not dulled and belabored.
4. A pedagog perhaps but parish pedantic. This truth about wavering convictions rings loud and speaks to the majority and those whom have forgotten how to temper their words with conviction.
Absolutely spot on.
@c16sh1 I agree.
I think another aspect of it is that teenagers were raised in a culture obsessed with political correctness. They are so afraid of being labeled --as racy, ignorant, pushy-- before they can finish their thought, simply because their opinions might open themselves up to someone else's derision. So they inject it with a healthy amount of uncertainty, and no one is offended and everyone stays happy.
@IHaveAPodXTLive
I had to go back and listen to the video twice because I didn't think I had heard any aspersions cast upon any particular generation, let alone the younger one. As someone in the way older generation, I hear this kind of saying nothing from everyone around me, except for those in my mother's generation. Usually, when some one asks me, "You know?" I'm startled because, I'm still waiting for them to say something important. It DOES give us something to say when we forget.
This is great, and completely true. I hate when I oversay "like," and make interrogatives of declaratives.
This was amazing and terribly true. I've become more and more aware of the use of "like" in my Californian vocabulary, and I'm trying to remedy it.
Love this!!!!
(part 1)
Sometimes, it is beneficial to speak with ignorance, because if one is willing take the criticism and learn from it, and later modify that opinion to make it like less vulnerable and keyed in with the information provided by others, the harder will it be for it to be doubted. And there are many ways an opinion can be strengthened and sharpened. And presented fairly too, no tricks or making analysis of it difficult.
love the shirt. very fitting.
(part 1)
It depends what arrogance and humility mean. I've a feeling those words can mean different things to different people and the dictionary only goes so far, not with the exactness that it can present objective proof of such concepts, the justification for why one is deemed eternally wrong and the other eternally right with real life examples of the operation and consequence of them.
This was very, very very good. No lie. I SPEAK WITH CONVICTION MR!
digging the scrabble shirt!!!
Makes me rethink about how I've been speaking my whole life o.O
excelente!!!!!!!
"...I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions. I'm just, like, inviting you to join me on the bandwagon of my own uncertainty...?"
Hahaha. Love it.
hahahhahah he is goood! one of my favorite poets. hes speaking the truth.
hilarious too! :)
This is something new. Performance poetry?
Me likey!
Yes!
well i dont know if anyone has noticed this but "the assault on human language" is also used whenever you don't capitalize, add caps, "rofl", etc. therefore we shouldn't be harsh on those who use "y'know, like"....just pointing out inconsistencies...oh and by the way, i use this slang because it's become natural for me from the environment in which i live in, not the education i receive which is adequate.
Love love love Taylor Mali!!!
Indeed! And like, you know, awesome and stuff!!!
@KnightofMotley Is it wrong to consider that you might not be right all the time?
I heard someone say, "Believe what you believe with absolute conviction, but believe it teachably."
Brilliant!
Niceeee! Well-said. Thank YOU! :)
Oh bummer, there's now some sort of audio/video delay in this clip. It used to not be like that. Anyone know what happend? Any way to change it back?
I am in complete agreement.
Amen!
And part of the problem with society today is that we don't believe in the concept of truth anymore. We're so wishy washy and "everyone has their own truth" that we don't even believe "our" truth anymore because there are so many other "truths". People who speak with any sort of conviction or belief are shot down because their ideals might offend some or another group and are therefore invalid to a discussion. We have become afraid to declare truth, even in the smallest of things.
THIS POEM IS PHENOMENAL!!!!
so awesome
LOVE THIS VIDEO!
Is the audio off a little on this?
DAMN, THIS IS AWESOME!
I am Canadian. I endorse this post.
@c16sh1 Good point. As a 15 year old in 10th grade. That grammer is used alot with my generation. We really don't hold our own opinions and will say what ever will make us feel accepted.
absolute genius!