How to Stop saying 'Um' all the Time

In this video, I answer the question: “How do I stop saying “um” all the time?”

“Um” is a hesitation sound, or a filler sound, that people make to literally fill the silence. Usually they do it in the middle of a thought, or in between thoughts, as a way of “buying time” while they think through what they are trying to say or what they are going to say next.

It’s not a problem to make this sound occasionally— we all do— including me. But if you’re making it continuously, every time you have any kind of pause in your speech, it can really muddy the clarity of your thoughts and make it difficult to follow what you’re trying to say.

One way you won't get rid of this sound is by thinking to yourself: 'Stop saying "Um" all the time.'

I talk you through what you can do instead-- how you can treat this sound as a signal from your body that you need a breath to think, and why that moment to breathe is also generous to your listener.

[FinOps_for_finance]

Great explanation. Watching back my initial videos are cringeworthy. I was going to start and "um" count. Taking breath instead is great advice and I will look to implement it in my future videos. Thanks for sharing.

[albertmo]

Hi Christine, Love your video! At Toastmasters, we call those "filler words". We even have an Ah-Counter counting the usage of the filler words. At the end of our meetings, the Ah-Counter gives an Ah-Counter's report to alert our speakers. Interesting, it's it? Best, Albert from SF