Alright
Okay
You know
I never
People in the same area will use similar phrasings and words. Pop versus Soda, but watch out for the same habits and patterns.
Not everyone answers with, okay, alright, yeah, but three different people might. Relatives may use variations…okay, okie-dokie; all right, alrightie.
Same with – uh, hmm, ahhh.
Characters need their own words in order to not sound like every other character…male and/or female…and getting lost. Think about a conversation which doesn’t require dialogue tags, using the same words could get confusing real fast.
Plus this helps keep down the volume of repetitive words.
Now think about which word you use all the time. Now think of a room with six people using it, too.
Talk about a headache.