I think all 8 are more patterns exhibited by people who are deferring to others or possibly lacking confidence in their position.
I have to keep myself from doing all 8 via email whenever I’m writing to clients. I tend to want to defer and let them make the decisions. The truth is it generally doesn’t do me any favors to put myself at that disadvantage from the start.
I try to go back and edit them out as I can.
So to answer questions:
Do you think the premise of the article is true – that these are speech patterns more commonly found in women than men?
Maybe. But definitely more common in anyone who isn’t taking charge of the situation.
If so, do you think it’s true that these phrases cause people to subconsciously have less respect for what we have to say?
Yes, definitely. If you’re not sure of what you’re saying, how can they be confident in it?
Those of us who have these speech habits – do you think we should really try to change them?
I still think they have a place when egos need to be put at ease, but should be practiced when appropriate instead of as your default way of communicating. In other words use them as one tool in your repertoire.