How to Stop Using Filler Words in Public Speaking
Learning how to stop using filler words starts with becoming more aware, not with willpower. Figure out which filler words you use most, then replace each one with a short pause instead of an "um" or "like." Slowing down and knowing your material helps too. Fillers creep in when your mouth gets ahead of your thoughts.
If you are an adult who wants to sound more polished in meetings, presentations, or interviews, small, targeted habits make the difference. You will learn what filler words are, why they slip out, how they affect your message, and the steps that help you speak with more confidence.
Filler words are a habit, and habits respond to steady practice.
Key Takeaways
Filler words are placeholders like “um,” “uh,” “like,” and “you know” that buy your brain a moment to think. They are normal in small amounts and only distract when overused.
The average speaker uses about five fillers per minute; polished speakers use closer to one. Awareness of your own patterns is the first step toward that lower number.
A silent pause is the best replacement for a filler word. Pauses feel far longer to you than to your audience, who read them as thoughtful.
Preparation, a slower pace, and feedback do most of the work. Filler words thrive on nervousness, so removing that removes most of them.
Why Do People Use Filler Words?
The Negative Effects of Using Filler Words
Seven Strategies to Stop Using Filler Words
Boost Your Confidence with a Communication Coach
What We See Working with Clients
What Are Filler Words?
Filler words are the small sounds and phrases we slip into speech while deciding what to say next. They are also normal, and most people use them.
Common Filler Words
Common filler words include “um,” “uh,” “like,” “so,” “you know,” and “I mean.” Some people also call them vocal fillers, speech fillers, or verbal fillers.
Research on everyday speech finds that fillers make up anywhere from about a tenth of a percent to nearly nine percent of the words people say. As a benchmark, the average speaker uses roughly five filler words a minute, while polished speakers land closer to one. The goal is not to erase every one, but to keep them from crowding out your message.
Why Do People Use Filler Words?
Most filler words come down to timing. When your thoughts outrun your speech, a sound slips in to fill the gap. A few patterns explain almost all of it:
Buying time to think. A filler holds your place while you plan the next idea, which is why fillers tend to cluster mid-sentence when you speak off the cuff.
Nervousness. About 75 percent of people report some fear of public speaking, and that anxiety makes silence feel risky, so we fill it.
Being unprepared. When you have not rehearsed, you have to compose your material in real time, and that mental load pushes out more fillers.
Worrying about being judged. Feeling watched during public speaking makes many speakers rush, and a faster pace leaves less space to think.
A few fillers during spontaneous, unscripted speech are nothing to worry about. They only need attention when they become frequent enough to pull focus, since clear speech is one piece of stronger communication skills.
The Negative Effects of Using Filler Words
A stray “um” costs nothing. Too many filler words can quietly work against you in three ways.
Credibility and Professionalism
Excessive filler words can make a speaker seem less confident and undermine their credibility. When “like” and “you know” pepper every sentence, listeners often read it as uncertainty, even when you know your subject well.
Distraction to Listeners
Filler words disrupt the flow of your speech and pull the audience away from your main message. Instead of following your point, your audience starts noticing the fillers.
Reduced Clarity
A sentence broken up by “um” and “uh” is harder to follow. Trimming the fillers makes your point clearer, and polished delivery is a core part of public speaking training for professionals.
Seven Strategies to Stop Using Filler Words
The best way to cut filler words is to notice your habit, then get comfortable with silence. These seven strategies work together, so start with the one that fits you best.
Notice your own patterns. Record yourself speaking, then watch or listen back, or ask a friend or family member for honest feedback. Identifying the specific words and phrases you rely on makes them easier to catch in the moment.
Pause instead of filling. When you feel a filler coming, close your mouth and let a brief silence sit there. Strategic pauses sound confident, and they feel much longer to you than to your audience.
Try the Period Method. Speak in short, complete sentences and stop fully at each period. Training your brain to land on a full stop replaces the reflex to bridge every gap with a sound.
Slow down. A measured pace gives you time to think a beat ahead of your words, which quietly removes the need for most fillers.
Prepare and structure your thoughts. Rehearse your material and organize it into clear points, one idea at a time. The more prepared you are, the fewer fillers slip out.
Take a breath. A quiet breath is a natural stand-in for an “um.” It keeps your pauses smooth and buys the same thinking time without the sound.
Practice impromptu speaking. Speaking off the cuff on purpose, and holding eye contact while you do, builds your comfort with silence. The more at ease you are in the gaps, the less you feel the urge to fill them.
Boost Your Confidence with a Communication Coach
Self-practice takes you far, but a second set of ears speeds things up. Outside feedback catches fillers you cannot hear yourself. A coach can also build a plan around the moments that matter most, from a keynote to a daily standup.
A communication coach can pinpoint your patterns and give you targeted drills, so progress comes faster than trial and error. Good communication coaching also strengthens the skills around fillers, from pacing to a steadier speaking voice.
How to Speak in Public Confidently
Learn how to speak in public confidently in this blog.
What We See Working with Clients
We coach adults who want to sound clearer and more confident when they speak, and filler words come up as a goal all the time.
The examples below are real clients of ours. Identifying details have been changed to protect privacy.
One client, a sales manager, filled nearly every pause with “you know” and worried it made her pitches sound unsure. We recorded practice sessions, so she heard the pattern, then replaced each filler with a short, deliberate pause. Within weeks she was pausing where she used to stumble, and her pitches felt steadier.
Another client, an engineer preparing conference talks, spoke quickly and leaned on “um” whenever he lost his place. We slowed his pace, built his talk into clear points to rehearse, and practiced the Period Method until full stops felt easy. He cut enough fillers that his ideas came through cleanly.
Frequently Asked Questions About Filler Words
1. What causes people to use filler words in conversations?
Filler words usually appear when your speech outpaces your thinking. Buying time, nervousness, and speaking without preparation are the most common triggers, which is why fillers rise when you are put on the spot.
2. Are filler words bad?
Not in small amounts. A few fillers are a normal part of speech, and even expert speakers use them occasionally. They only work against you when they become frequent enough to distract your audience or make you sound unsure.
3. What are some practical strategies to reduce filler words in daily conversations?
Start by becoming aware of the fillers you use most. Then slow your pace and replace each one with a brief pause. Preparing what you want to say and practicing with feedback make these habits stick.
4. Can working with a communication coach help reduce filler words?
Yes. A coach gives you outside feedback on patterns you cannot hear yourself and builds targeted practice around your real speaking situations, which usually makes progress faster than practicing alone.
5. How many filler words is too many?
There is no exact cutoff. But if fillers pull attention from your message, it is worth addressing. Aiming toward roughly one per minute, the range polished speakers land in, is a realistic target.
How Connected Speech Pathology Can Help
At Connected Speech Pathology, our communication coaches help adults reduce filler words and speak with more confidence in the settings that matter to them. We work online and one-on-one, so practice fits your real routine, whether that is a boardroom presentation or a video call.
What sets our approach apart is that we start from how you speak day to day. We listen for your specific patterns, then build a plan around your goals so your delivery feels natural. For a professional who wants a stronger presence, that can mean pairing filler reduction with broader presentation and communication skills.
Summary
Filler words like “um,” “like,” and “you know” are a normal part of speech, and the aim is not to erase them but to keep them from crowding out your message. They surface when your thinking runs faster than your speech, usually from nerves, a fast pace, or too little preparation.
Knowing how to stop using filler words is less about willpower than a few steady habits. Notice your patterns, replace each filler with a steady pause, slow down, and prepare what you want to say. With practice, feedback, and support from a communication coach when you want it, speaking clearly in public is a skill almost anyone can build.
About the Author
Allison Geller, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a communication coach, speech-language pathologist, and founder of Connected Speech Pathology, an international online practice providing professional communication coaching and speech therapy for children, teens, and adults. With more than two decades of experience, she has worked in medical and educational settings and published research on aphasia. Today, she leads a team of specialists who help clients improve their skills in public speaking, vocal presence, accent clarity, articulation, language, fluency, and interpersonal communication.
