How to Eliminate Ums When You Talk

 

Have you ever listened to yourself talk and realized you said a bunch of “ums” and “likes”?  I know I have and it’s pretty rough. I’ve gotten better over the years, but they still show up here and there.

“Ums” can be distracting when you talk so it’s best to avoid them.

 

Here are 3 tips to help you eliminate ums in your speech.

 

Rehearse:

rehearse

When we have “ums” when we talk, it’s typically because we’re trying to think of what we want to say.

You want to go over your content and rehearse a few times so you have it down on video shoot day.

This will not only help you eliminate “ums”, but you’ll come off as professional and confident.

 

Slow Down:

 

If you’ve been following our content for a while, you’ve heard this before.  Slowing down your speech pattern will help you eliminate “ums”. If you need to think for a second, you have time to “catch up” without using filler words like “um”, “like”, and “ah”.

Slowing down your speech will help you come off as more trustworthy instead of sounding like a fast-talking salesperson.

 

Take a Pause:

 

If you find yourself at a loss for words, pause to gather your thoughts quickly.  This is strong for a couple of reasons: 1: it eliminates an “um” and 2: people will tend to lean in because they are waiting for what you’re about to say. ex: a dramatic pause.

 

Please keep in mind, that we can eliminate some of your “ums” in our editing process but if there are a ton, the video can come out choppy.

So it’s best to not have them to begin with. This will also help you come across as more confident in your day-to-day conversations like phone calls and networking events.

 

What filler words have you been able to eliminate?