Stop Using Pause Fillers!

A few years ago, I attended a lunch meeting hosted by an organization to promote their next charitable event. I looked forward to learning more about the organization and hearing their speaker provide a bit of history and details to peak my interest in their fundraising efforts. I settled in my chair, turned up my ears and waited patiently for the speaker.  

After he was introduced, and began speaking, I had a bad feeling. The feeling was similar to being told that your favorite ice cream has been discontinued; a big disappointment!  

What happened?   

The speaker, who I am sure was knowledgeable and experienced, filled his speech with so many “pause fillers” that I had difficulty understanding what he was saying. He began the majority of his sentences with a long “Uh” and added other distracting words in his sentences.   

His 20-minute presentation seemed like hours and it became uncomfortable to listen to him speak. As a “long-time” Toastmaster, I know the importance of reducing distracting words to get a message across easily to an audience. This was a non-Toastmasters event and there were certainly a number of people in the audience who were also fidgeting while he spoke. I felt bad for the speaker and the organization because it wasn’t an effective way to “wow the crowd” for support.  

Whether you are speaking via Zoom or in person, pause fillers are those annoying words (or sounds) that we use to fill in the “quiet” pause during a conversation or speech when we are collecting our thoughts. We may feel the need ‘say something’ to fill this gap when it is not necessary and can be a sign of nervousness or being unprepared. These pesky words and sounds can reduce the impact of our message and reduce our credibility; not what you want to happen, ever.  

What words or sounds are distracting to audiences? Below are the ones I hear most often:

 ◦You Know
 ◦Like
 ◦Ah
 ◦And so
 ◦Er
 ◦Um
 ◦I mean
 ◦Well
 ◦Yeah
 ◦Okay

If the pause filler “bug” is making you less effective, pay attention to how and why you are using them. If you don’t know you are using them, you don’t know that you need to correct the problem.  I recommend asking a trusted friend to listen and give you feedback.  

Better yet..join a Toastmasters club near you!  Find a club at www.toastmasters.org 

If you are going to deliver a speech to a make an impact, you owe it to your audience, the organization and yourself to be prepared for success!

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