Hedging is a very practical strategy to soften and mitigate your utterances.

It also helps sound more native-like, if you're non-native speaker of English. But there is another side of this coin–hedging language, if overused undermines your written and verbal communication. 

Most people, tend to use phrases like “I think we should . . .” ,“I feel like . . .” or “It would be great if . . .” in their writing and verbal communication.

All these are examples of hedging and they are words and expressions that undermine your message and credibility. This holds true for native and non-native English users alike. 

In fact, hedging is a linguistic phenomenon shared by most world’s languages and cultures – if not by all!

Reasons why fluent non-native speakers may overuse the hedging language:

• They want to be perceived as native-like

• As a coping strategy–similarly to native speakers–in anxiety-inducing situations

• To appear polite

• As an escape hatch – if they turn out to be wrong, it was only a suggestion, not a statement

These techniques have their place in communication. Hedging also receives attention in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

However, you’d do best avoiding it during situations when you want to come across as certain, clear, and decisive.  Or you’re risking coming across as fuzzy and vague.