This article is part of the 12 Days of Ask Six Minutes.
This event is over now, but you can send your questions anytime.
This event is over now, but you can send your questions anytime.
Filler words — including um and uh — are never written into a speech, and add nothing when a speaker utters them.
Yet these insidious verbal hiccups are ubiquitous, uttered by most speakers in most speeches every day.
Robin Hutchins writes:
I teach a college speech class. The most common struggle my students have is the use of filler words such as um and uh. Do you have a strategy that helps to omit filler words?
What can be done? Is it hopeless?
In this article, we examine why filler words have a negative impact on your effectiveness, and learn a five-step strategy for reducing them.
