Verbal Fillers: Are You Guilty of Um, Ah and Sort Of?

Verbal Fillers: Are You Guilty of Um, Ah and Sort Of?

Do you have a verbal “tic?” Get a tape of your last public speech, talk, oral argument or sales presentation. Are you starting your sentences with an “uh” or its common replacement “so?”

If these verbal fillers seem to find their way into your public speaking, you are not alone. Many of the talking heads featured on news programs, such as at CNN, MSNBC, FOX and Bloomberg, still populate too many sentences with words like “uh” and “um.”

The latest verbal fillers that seem to be popular are “so” and “sort of,” which initially seemed better than “uh” but still detract from the speaker’s message. “So” will inappropriately start some sentences, and “sort of” will appear mid-sentence where it imparts nothing and doesn’t belong. Don’t get me started on teenagers and “like.”

Even President Barak Obama is not immune. When he is thinking carefully while speaking impromptu, he relies on both “uh” and “ah” frequently.

Of course, people who live in “sort of” glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. If you have detected verbal fillers from your own oral presentations, removing them is often no easy task. Below are a few tips:

Pay attention: Self-awareness is a first step. Record your oral presentations to determine what verbal crutches you tend to use and under what circumstances.

Slow down: Fillers tend to crop up when our mouths have trouble keeping up with our brains. Slowing down and speaking more deliberately can help eliminate the need to use “uhs” and ahs.”

Learn to embrace silence: Not all silence is bad. It is ok to pause and gather your thoughts without inserting a verbal placeholder. In fact, a small break may actually allow the audience to more fully consider what you have said.

Practice: Think about what you are going to say before you speak. The more confidence you have in what you are saying, the less likely you will be to use verbal fillers as a crutch.

If you have any questions about this post or would like to discuss the issues involved, please contact me, Dan Brecher, or the Scarinci Hollenbeck attorney with whom you work.