Steven D. Cohen is an award-winning speaker who teaches Oral
Communication in the Workplace at Harvard Extension School. An expert on public speaking, Cohen researches and writes about the techniques that professional
speakers use to design and deliver powerful messages. For more information,
visit www.stevendcohen.net. In this blog post, Cohen explores how filler words
can make you, and even the most powerful speakers, look unprofessional.
It is difficult for me to watch political speeches. After
all, I know that I am going to hear one alarming word over and over again. It’s
not “debt,” “deficit,” or “downturn.” It’s “um.”
Filler words like “um” may seem natural in everyday speech,
but they do not belong in formal presentations or speeches. Powerful public
speakers work hard to eliminate words such as “um,” “uh,” “well,” “so,” “you
know,” “er,” and “like” from their vocabulary so that their listeners can focus
solely on their message. Through practice and persistence, you can too.
So, like, why am I saying “um”?
Why do we use filler words? The simplest answer is that we
have been conditioned to answer questions immediately from an early age. When
our mother or father asked us a question, we were sure to answer right
away—either because we wanted to show respect or because we were afraid of what
would happen if we didn’t answer. Consequently, we feel the urge to speak when
spoken to.
Some people argue that filler words serve an important
purpose such as making a speaker sound more “natural” or “real.” In fact, Michael
Erard wrote a book on this very subject. But just because filler words are
fairly common in everyday speech does not mean that they are useful. In fact,
they often detract from the listener’s ability to understand a particular
message.
