Praise in public, criticize in private. Unless I have a discreet, anonymous channel to convey it to the boss directly, I'd just bear with it for the few tens of minutes a month

It could be worse. I worked with a gent whose verbal tick was eight words long, and it would be repeated frequently in any given meeting. The guy was brilliant, so we made the effort and learned to ignore it. I highly recommend you do the same in this much simpler case. The speaker is probably already fully aware of this and pointing it out won't be helpful

@keshlam - But why won't it be helpful? By someone pointing this out, wouldn't it motivate her to work on improving this tick?

If this is the most important issue you have with your boss' boss, you are quite lucky. The proposed "constructive criticism" will likely embarrass her. Why would you risk that with your boss' boss? I have a colleague with a similar tick. They are on the same hierarchical level as I am and I would never say anything about it. Speech therapy for adults is best discussed with family, if at all.

Noted. Thank you.

The thing is people usually know they have certain speech issues. But knowing doesn't mean you can change these habits easily. I know I tend to swallow syllables which makes me often hard to understand but it's very difficult to get rid off. What do you try to accomplish here?

The fact that you can't seem to follow what she's saying just because she says "you know" often seems as much an issue with your listening ability as with her speaking ability. Maybe you should try taking an English listening class to improve your comprehension or get more practice listening to a diverse range of speakers?

In general, when tempted to "manage up", don't unless it is truly critical, or you know them extremely well as friends rather than bosses, or they have asked you for that feedback. This Is Not Your Role.

I once met a man who seemed incapable of speaking a single sentence without saying 'you know' at least once, often twice and sometimes three times. I think we all see 'you know' as annoying but why can you not blank it out, and just pretend she didn't say it?

@Sean Burton, trust me, the "you knows" are really bad. I listen intently then start to zone out when she pauses and says you know over and over.

I have to say, reading the comments and answers on this page paints a very bleak picture of Corporate America. Very stay-in-your-lane and fear-the-boss’-wrath. If I had a job that required giving frequent speeches and a tic that made my speeches hard to follow or annoying to sit through, I would want to know about it so I could work on it. It is absolutely possible to point something like this out in a polite way that shows that your interest is in helping your boss. And I have never held a job – even when I worked in a bank – where I felt unable to send such a message.

That's all I wanted to do was help her. But based on most of the comments here, I should ignore it and suffer through it or face a talk from HR or my career being ended.

I have a doctor with this exact tic. The first few times I was distracted and vaguely offended ("I'm supposed to know in advance all these medical details she's talking about?"). Then it dawned on me that she didn't mean it literally, it was an unconscious tic. Being able to filter it out afterward, she's far and away the best doctor I've seen in years.

@DiligentWorker25 looking at your other posted questions, it really seems you have a hard time grasping social norms / social etiquette that just comes naturally to almost all people. Have you tried therapy or so to be better at understanding unspoken rules ? If this comment makes you uncomfortable because i looked up your questions and pointed out something obvious: congratulations, this is exactly how your boss'boss would feel.

People usually grow out of these fillers. When I was young [70s] 'you know' was the verbal space filler of choice. I don't know anyone of my age who still uses it. In the 90s it was clearly replaced in young people by 'innit' [isn't it] which itself has now been replaced by 'like'. Each of these eventually just fades out of use, even amongst those who used them to the extreme. 'Erm', of course, will never die;)

Resorting to filler words and phrases are often more due to nerves, being stood up in front of a group of people, no matter how many times you do it, will often still have some level of anxiety attached. Does the Boss' Boss still do this when talking one on one? Criticising someone about a minor point of something they're anxious about shows quite a lack of empathy. Perhaps when you've stood up there and confidently done a few speeches you can advise from a mentoring position. Until then, just try to practice better listening skills.