What Is the Term for Such Words and Sounds as Er You Know Okay and Um
Verbal Filler: How to Slow the Flow
Hmm …. then, what'south the deal with all those times you've heard an "um," "er," "you know," "uh," "like," "okay," or "hmm"? That is if you even noticed the utterance at all. Officially known as oral communication disfluencies, they are more than commonly called verbal fillers – the umms, uhhs, and other linguistic pauses of everyday conversation.
People from around the globe dot their conversations with them, typically unaware they are doing and then. Meanwhile, well-nigh listeners don't fifty-fifty notice them.
Verbal Fillers are Everywhere
About five to 8 pct of the words normal speakers say every mean solar day – that's nigh 325 to 1,800 – involve an "um," "uh," "er," or some other such interruption; a repeated sound, syllable, or word (such as "like"); a restarted judgement (a "let me starting time over" moment); or a repair ("What I meant to say"), according to Michael Erard, the author of Um…Slips, Stumbles, and Exact Blunders, and What They Mean.
Exact fillers tend to slip out when nosotros are trying to collect our thoughts, offer a response, connect ideas, or recollect most the adjacent thing nosotros desire to say – which pretty much sums up about conversations. They get problematic when they are used to the point of lark.
Once noticed, nevertheless, these fillers and phrases can lead to assumptions about how nervous or how smart we are.
Erard theorizes all those umms, uhhs, and other song breaks became more of a problem when devices for audio playback were invented. Before that, such repetitions or hesitations were not mentioned every bit a bane of great oratory. When we heard our own voices and our linguistic imperfections, we immediately attempted to eliminate them. There was no moral imperative to cut them out of the dictionary. The eradication was prompted by an annoyance or fearfulness that we were not coming off besides as we wanted to.
I of the times we've noticed this song propensity can become a claiming is in a more than formal setting, such as a public presentation or media interview. Media and presentation trainers oftentimes urge their clients to trim their verbal fat past eliminating all those extra un-words and utterances.
Whenwework with our public speaking training clients, we tend not to focus on the total elimination of verbal fillers, but rather techniques that will reduce their employ. As with whatever diet, exact or otherwise, moderation is primal. Nosotros practise this for several reasons:
- Speakers who completely refrain from verbal fillers may appear overly polished and slick.
- An occasional "um" or "uh" is unlikely to distract an audience. Rather, some research suggests that audiences think more from speakers who utter an occasional verbal filler.
- If you are constantly worried virtually the manner you sound while presenting or giving a spoken language, it can prevent you from making a 18-carat connexion with your audition.
So how do you, er, stop doing this?
First, you demand to detect out how many times yous do information technology. Here'south a first:
- For a calendar week, tape snippets of yourself talking. Record no more than x minutes that reflect a variety of conversations. So, listen to your patterns.
- Film yourself during your side by side presentation. Replay it to discover how many times (and where) those filler words appeared.
- If you take agreeable friends and family members, yous might be able to convince them to track the times you used a filler word. (Spoiler alert: Erard notes that researchers tasked with similar efforts written report finding information technology hard to "unhear" the verbal fillers once they have engaged in such diligent study.)
Reducing Exact Fillers
At present that you have the raw information, it's time to work on corralling these cerebral cues before you lot have a stampede. Here are some exercises:
Pause. Verbal fillers often occur at the showtime of a response as you lot stall for fourth dimension. You are giving your brain fourth dimension to catch upwards and class the next thought. If you lot intermission for a moment earlier answering, it will help you to better construction your respond.
Pause, Function 2. During a presentation or speech, utilize your notes as touchstones to which y'all return. Pause, await downward, come across your next point, look up, and brainstorm speaking over again. It buys you fourth dimension to form a better respond, evangelize information technology with greater confidence, and eliminate verbal fillers. Bonus: the audience has a moment to retrieve about and engage with your content.
Pause, Function III. Look purposeful every bit y'all suspension. The key is to be deliberate and to "own" the pause in your body language. Don't excessively ruffle or shuffle your notes. Be intentional in shifting your gaze – no darting eyes – from the audience to notes.
Transition. Swap out your uhhs for transitional phrases. For instance, if a question causes you to pause while conducting a Q&A session post-obit your presentation, say, "I'd similar a moment to think about that," before moving to reply. If you lot still need additional fourth dimension, you can – y'all guessed information technology – pause before you respond.
Zip it. When yous hesitate, refrain from uttering a exact filler and substitute a silent intermission. You are nevertheless hesitating but are a lot quieter while doing it.
Focus on the middle. Although the beginning of a sentence tends to exist populated with verbal fillers, these suckers can find their way smack-dab in the center of ane of your master points or messages. There is an exercise that helps you to be vigilant from the outset to the end of whatsoever portion of your presentation or spoken language. Record yourself talking well-nigh an object, whatsoever object (your java automobile, your favorite coating, your car, etc.), for about xxx seconds. During that time, you are non allowed to use exact pauses. Instead, you replace articulated pauses with silent ones. Do this several times until you are skilful at substituting the silences.
Prepare. This takes identify before you utter a word. Take fourth dimension to rehearse your talk, so that your brain has the game plan earlier game 24-hour interval. As you review your fabric, identify places where you lot tend to stumble or hesitate – these are places where a short silent break will help you to collect your thoughts before moving on to your adjacent point.
A Sensible Weeding
When the focus is only on eliminating verbal fillers, a speaker's cerebral load tin increase to the signal where they accept just besides much to think nearly. It can make them appear less dynamic, inspirational, and passionate. When you work to reduce the filler, you create a leaner and more effective presentation without losing any of your personality or pluck in the process.
In other words, past thinking and then difficult virtually one problem, y'all can create another.
As Erard writes:
"Once people get aware of them, spoken communication disfluencies come to correspond the weeds in the garden. Nails that hang us up. Bumps in the route."
If y'all notice the above examples, they are all mere annoyances, temporary hindrances, and small-scale setbacks that trip usa up from time to fourth dimension. Just as most people don't disproportionately fret over these inconveniences, speakers need not strive for umm-less perfection.
Source: https://www.throughlinegroup.com/2019/03/27/verbal-filler-how-to-slow-the-flow/
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