Killer Fillers³
So uh, I decided that I am going to write you guys a blog this week about um, you know, those killer fillers we use in like all of our sentences and during speeches...
Holy bleep! Even typing that sentence was painful. Why do we insist on butchering our language? You all had better keep reading because I am positive that we have almost ALL been guilty of committing this habit!
Looking back over countless speeches I have heard, I don’t think I can remember one that did not contain a word such as “um”, “uh”, “like” or more (most common fillers). Even teachers have killed their lectures with these deadly sentence fillers (you know who you are).
What I would like to know is, why we insist on adding these words to our sentences in places that make close to no sense at all. Honestly, I’m sure you are all thinking of the same thing.
The worst are sentences that contain the word “like” because half the time it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! “So uh, did you see how like amazing those shoes were? Like I can’t even get over it.”
I can’t even stay serious while typing this because I am just as guilty as the rest of you. If not more...
Let’s face it, it doesn’t make us sound any smarter.
One of the main reasons why we add these words to our sentences is because we are trying to think and speak at the same time. Our brains are trying to “plan” and “execute” simultaneously⁴. Also, because we are starting to lose our train of thought or we don’t know what else to talk about. Once we say one of these fillers, our audience is basically thinking: “uh oh, you’re in trouble”⁴. It is almost as if we are trying to save our speeches by giving our brains a few extra seconds to think.
Something I found funny is that while giving a speech, “uh” and “um” can have two different meanings to the audience. “Uh” will tell listeners that you are about to take a short pause, while “um” indicates a slightly longer pause⁴. It is still not pretty to hear in a speech, yet it is interesting.
Ironically, a description used to explain the difference between hearing “uh” and “um” in a speech is, if the speaker is experienced and bad at presenting he will say “um”, but if he is inexperienced and bad at presenting he will say “uh”³.
Well that is reassuring...
Many people like to believe that these “verbal viruses” are caused by anxiety, yet there is no actual research that proves this or proves any relation between this habit and certain emotions⁴.
Shoot, I guess we can’t exactly identify our feelings for this one...
Luckily for us, there are many ways that we can try and stop this habit! From asking others to listen to our speech, to studying it in advance, to recording it and listening to it ourselves³! The options are endless, just waiting for us to help fix the disasters we’ve created!
A very important method of practice is to “embrace the silence”². It is important for us all to realize that a short pause in our speech is good, because it lets the audience retain what we have just said²! It may seem like an eternity, but trust me, it’s not.
The downside to being more aware of this habit is that you hear every one of your mistakes every time you say them. You catch yourself saying some, you catch others saying some; it is honestly a nightmare. However, being more aware of doing this is what will help you to stop.
I hope we can all learn to stop this habit so that we can be experienced and good speakers in front of a crowd!
Would you like to read more about this habit? Click here and become an expert on perfect speeches!
Thanks for reading!
⁴ http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/06/14/becoming-well-spoken-how-to-minimize-your-uhs-and-ums/
One of the main reasons why we add these words to our sentences is because we are trying to think and speak at the same time. Our brains are trying to “plan” and “execute” simultaneously⁴. Also, because we are starting to lose our train of thought or we don’t know what else to talk about. Once we say one of these fillers, our audience is basically thinking: “uh oh, you’re in trouble”⁴. It is almost as if we are trying to save our speeches by giving our brains a few extra seconds to think. 
I can't..um...think of what teacher...uh...would ever do such a thing...erm?
ReplyDeleteGoshdarnit, you got me. Great post and I love the techniques to get rid of those killer fillers. I'll have to try some of them out.
I am guilty of these fillers! Every presentation that I do in front of a class, I tell myself no ums! It always seems to slip out of my mouth no matter how many times I practice and prepare! It is so frustrating sometimes. I will definitely use some of those techniques to try and stop this horrible habit!
ReplyDelete