Why do so many people being interviewed on tv start their replies...

with the word "so"?
You have a listen, it happens so often now. It's one of those things that's crept in fairly recently.
In my days one of the popular cringeworthy phrases was "basically speaking."

 

So, yer know, basically speaking, yer know, at the end of the day, yer know, all things being equal, yer know, you've got to turn round and say, yer know, what was the question again?

 

To annoy you.

 

It's been mentioned on here before, and it's annoyed me for some time.

Where it's come from I don't know. Maybe an Americanism?

 

I have noticed that a lot of statements recently on the tv have begun with " look " or " listen "

 

First time I heard it was in a porn film.

Bloke said, "So, you want me to plough your wife?"

Maybe the film was better distributed than I thought?

 

Listen, basically at the end of the day. Der boi dun gud yeah? Fundamentally guys its a no brainer!

 

What about the over use of the word like, like?

 

It's a trained media technique aimed to give an air of credibility to the interviewed when given a difficult topic and slightly deframe the question put to them. Been used for about a decade. It's also common to have a filler word at the beginning of a reply, followed by a dramatic pause, to give time for the interviewed to collect themselves and add emphasis to the soundbite likely to follow.

 

'I mean ' at the start of every sentence .

 

Same as reasons given above by DWLC, also recognised it Is a neutral response so as not to alienate/upset anyone which starting with a Yes or No could.
Political correctness in the same mould as not using your full finger when giving a speech.

 

Maybe Damian Green was Minister for People answering questions on TV. Although given the news that 20k+ pornographic links have been clicked in Parliament since the election last year...

 

Whenever I hear someone start a word with "so" I assume they're in robot mode. It's as if they use it mechanically, whirring into action to say a few words as if it's a moon landing. Other examples are "going forward" and "not fit for purpose". "The fact of the matter is" seems to have died out.

 

And often, when they start with "So..." they go on to end the sentence with an unnecessary raised tone, which seems to convert the whole thing into a question. As if they're either unsure of themselves, or unsure that the listener has understood what they're saying. Bloody irritating. Why can't they just talk proper, like what I do?

 

All Australian cricketers are required to start every reply with 'Look'.

 

Damn, I've just Liked your post. Does that offend you?

 

"So, Steve Smith, how does it feel to finish top scorer in an Ashes series?"

"Aw, look, yeah, no, it's about the team and not about me."

"Do you think 4-0 was a fair reflection of the series?"

"Aw, look, yeah, we played some really good cricket."