Clarity without filler
Fillers such as 'um', 'like' and 'you know' are usually thinking sounds. Replacing them with short silent pauses makes you sound more prepared and more authoritative.
Key ideas
- Fillers appear when the mouth moves faster than the plan.
- A silent pause sounds far shorter to listeners than it feels to you.
- Awareness alone reduces fillers quickly.
Step by step
- 1
Record a two-minute answer and count your fillers.
- 2
Identify your top two filler words.
- 3
Practise again, closing your mouth and pausing whenever you feel one coming.
- 4
Plan the first sentence of each point so you start cleanly.
Example
A sales lead counts twenty-two fillers in a two-minute pitch. After a week of practising silent pauses, the count falls to four and clients say she sounds more certain.
Your drill
Answer 'What do you do and why does it matter?' for ninety seconds. Record it, count fillers, then repeat with silent pauses.
Common mistakes
- Trying to eliminate every filler and freezing up.
- Replacing one filler with another, such as 'so' at every sentence start.
Check yourself
What should replace a filler word?
Show the answer
A short silent pause while you plan the next words.
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