We tend to use filler when we are afraid we will lose things, either the audience, our train of thought or both. It may seem to us as if a pause in speaking stretches out for a long time and the listeners will grow restless. Or that hearing our own words will help us remember what came next. The problem of forgetting a speech shouldn’t come up for us, since we have learned how to easily learn the content we have planned in the last blog entry.
What about that audience attention span? They are likely to stay with you for as long as they think there is something to be gained. If you keep them anticipating you can afford short pauses. The breaks will give the group time to absorb the points you have already made. They will signal the start of a new point. They will mark each statement as important enough to think about.
How do you break free? Here is a plan based on the homework you did when you set up your main points. Practice stating your thesis as a single sentence, then silently count to three. Speak your first main point in one sentence, and count again. Do this several times to cover your thesis and main points. Be sure to end each statement with a falling, not rising inflection. If you make everything sound like a question you will sound like you are asking the audience’s approval. You are not asking, you are telling. Make your point, let it hit home, then move on. If you get used to doing this you should be able to replace um with nothing more than a very brief silence. Instead of losing your audience you will win them over with your confidence. Be bold. Be heard.
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