You know them; you hear them; you recognize them: the people who cannot have a conversation without using the first-person pronoun multiple times in a space of minutes.
English teachers forbid the use of the first-person pronoun in students’ essays for several good reasons. The reader knows whose opinion the remarks in the paper are because his or her name is already on the paper. Phrases like “I think” and “I feel” and “I understand” and “It is my opinion” are redundant and just show uncertainty of conviction as well as a lack of variety in sentence writing.
At Panera Bread the other day, a young woman was conversing with a man who appeared to be her boss. She was one of those types who never had a private conversation due to the volume of her voice. She must have used the “I” word ten times in the couple of minutes that she was trying to impress this man. The man could hardly get a word in as she drolled on about herself. The impression had to be a negative one for sure.
A principal was asked to speak to the seniors at a high school as they began their senior year. The topic was supposed to be about the students’ hopes and dreams for the upcoming school year and to encourage them to make a mark and do their best. A follow-up meeting would be held at the end of the school year with this same group to review what they had accomplished. In the ten-minute delivery of what was supposed to be about the seniors, the principal used the “I” or “me” word thirty-seven times! Needless to say, the students were restless and bored at what should have been an exciting and motivating meeting.
In 2001, Toby Keith had a country music hit with “I Wanna Talk about Me
Perhaps you noticed that the word “I” was only used in this blog with quotation marks proving that eliminating that pronoun can be done. Try it, you may like it. Others, most assuredly will!
