“Like,” “Um,” and “Ah”: discover simple tactics to identify and avoid the (not so) silent killers of your career
Everlasting Webex, PowerPoint abuse and acronym filled reports are work hassles that you and I see everyday. But there is something that no one sees yet everyone knows about: Speech disfluencies (aka filler words).
In fact, up to 8 percent of the average person’s word output consists of meaningless fillers and placeholders like “um”, “uh” and “er”. We all suffer from it.
Today, I want you to increase your self-awareness about how you use filler words so you can reduce their presence. It will improve your credibility as a public speaker and help you deliver stronger messages.
Whether you are a salesperson and have to speak in front of customers every day or a manager that needs to motivates and grow his team, we all feel the same. We are self-improvers and want to raise the bar when it comes to public speaking. We are also unaware of the problem even though we hear it often.
How do we empower ourselves with simple tactics to say Adieu to the speedbumps of our communication highway? Read on!
Filler words are like vulgarity…
The occasional use is acceptable but when too frequent, it loses its meaning and signals to listeners that the person speaking is lazy about language.
It seems that on a subconscious level, we are judged by listeners for our use of fillers. A study from 1995 found that people who avoided using filler words (or “disfluencies”) are rated as significantly more favorable speakers by study volunteers than speakers who used words like “um”.
The average person incurs one disfluency for every 4.4 seconds of spontaneous speech. It’s like we’ve accepted this cultural norm that everybody condemns, yet still adheres to. And if you think about it, it’s pretty intuitive — a conversation partner who consistently uses filler words is assumed to be either nervous, out of place, or clueless as to what they’re talking about.
In fact, people around the world fill pauses in their own way. In Britain they say “uh,” Hebrew speakers say “ehhh,” the Turks say “mmmmm.” The Japanese say “eto” and “ano”, Spanish speakers “esto”, and Mandarin speakers “neige” and “jiege”. In Dutch and German it’s “uh, um, mmm.” In Swedish it’s “eh, ah, aah, m, mm, hmm, ooh, a and oh”. You get the idea…
3 easy tactics to see where you stand
“The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist” — Zig Ziglar
1 — Put a sticky on your screen or your notebook and write “uh” or “like”. Every time you’ll be in a meeting or on a webex call, you’ll have a visual reminder that filler words are everywhere. Listen to others. Listen to yourself.
2 — Record yourself while you speak and listen. After doing that for a week, make it a game and count how many times you’ve used filler word. Warning -You will be surprised by your numbers!
Tips: Most smartphones have a Dictaphone app. If you have an iPhone, it’s called Voice Memos. If you are a Samsung owner, look for Voice Recorder.
3 — Ask a colleague to pinch you. If it’s not a pinch, ask them to give you a little sign while you are speaking. It could be a little flag they raise in the room or an emoji they text you. If you find it too disruptive, just ask them to count the number of filler words and give you the results at the end of your speech.
Tips: If you are coaching someone, you can use a tally counter to count their filler words.
Augment your credibility with PTA: Pause. Think. Answer.
Confident leaders and seasoned public speakers utilize silence effectively to dramatize their messages.
Pause — Silence in speech is powerful. A well-placed pause allows words to ring louder, linger longer, and emphasize your point. It gives time for your listener to digest what’s being said.
Think — When you use a filler word such as “um,” you are thinking verbally. In other words, you are verbalizing your thought process. Armed with this information, it is easy to realize that the best way to avoid using filler words is to pause. If you are not speaking, you can’t say “um”!
Answer — It’s now the moment to make an impact. Continue your train of thoughts and don’t be afraid to come strong.
Politicians, salesmen and public figureheads are all taught this important technique. Next time you listen to a strong conversationalist, notice how they establish a linguistic rhythm. Notice how each spoken word is calculated and purposeful. And most of all, notice how they empower themselves with silence, rather than shy away from it.
What do I do now?
1 — Record yourself for 5 days during all your meetings and presentations. On the last day, listen and count how many filler words you’ve used. What’s your TOP 3?
2 — Write 2 stickies to put on your screen / notebook: one with your top 3 filler words and one with Pause. Think. Act.
3 — Use the PTA technique in your upcoming presentations and meetings. Record and measure for another 5 days.
Check your progress. Rinse. Repeat.
Interesting reads and inspirations about the subject:
Tips on Public Speaking: Eliminating the Dreaded “Um” from Harvard Extension
Uh, Lead My Rips: No More Bloopers on NYT
“I have a dream” speech by MLK with no filler words
Like, Um, You Can Totally Stop Worrying About Filler Words, Science Says on INC
Like, Eliminate Ums and Ahs, Right? From Coach Lisa Marshall
A Fusion publication. We are employees of UHG and these views are our own and not those of the company nor its affiliates.
