Spotlight on Fillers

The SpeechSkills Miniseries
Fillers #1 - The Most Common Derailer (2:18)
The bottom line: Because fillers are so common, we often tune them out. However, excessive fillers can deflate the power of your message and undercut your appearance of confidence and preparedness. The solution is to replace the filler with a pause.

Try this! The first step to eliminating fillers is to raise your awareness of them. Take several opportunities throughout the day to actively listen for fillers – in meetings, teleconferences, lunchtime conversations, and interactions with friends. Keep tabs on your own fillers and those of the people around you. What are the most common fillers you hear in your environment? Are there any fillers that you personally rely upon?
Fillers #2 - Why Do We Use Them? (1:19)
The bottom line: While we are likely to have fewer fillers when we have thoroughly rehearsed the message, the vast majority of our work conversations are unscripted. Learning to process your thoughts without fillers will help you project confidence when you are well prepared AND when you are not.

Try this! To test how often you may rely upon fillers to process, take out your cell phone and record yourself for a full two minutes while talking about your best friend or favorite relative. Do your best to avoid saying “uh” or “um.” While it’s possible that you will have zero fillers while focusing on this exercise, the more reliable indicator of how ingrained this habit may be is how hard you must work to eliminate them. If the task takes concentrated effort, it’s a safe bet that you rely upon fillers in your everyday conversations.
Fillers #3 - The Top Skill Drill for Eliminating Fillers (2:29)
The bottom line: When it comes to conquering the filler habit, the good news is that all it takes is practice. And the bad news is that all it takes is practice! There's simply no getting around the fact that the only way to make forward progress with this skill is to put in the practice time. However, just a few minutes a day will pay off with fast results.

Try this! Raise the bar on this skill set by practicing with a live human being. Reach out to a trusted friend or coworker and ask if they can spare a few minutes now or later today to help you play the Flag Game. Then, for three minutes discuss several places in the world you’d like to visit while your friend “flags” your fillers. You can do this exercise over the phone by using a noisemaker (buzzer, squeaky toy, clap) to act as an audible flag.
Fillers #4 - The Flag Game Checklist: A Proven Solution (1:08)
The bottom line: The key to mastering a new habit is less about how much time you spend, and more about how often you bring the new behavior front of mind. The Flag Game Checklist gives you an easy practice vehicle by providing you with 20 days’ worth of impromptu questions. Download it, print it, and physically check off each prompt that you complete.

Try this! Take a moment to brainstorm when you could fit a Flag Game session into your daily routine. Do you regularly take a coffee break with a friend or coworker? Do you ride to work in a carpool? Do you have kids who might enjoy flagging your mistakes for a change? And while it’s most effective to play with a partner, don’t let not having a partner stop your practice plans. Remember: You can always use your cell phone to record your answers and play it back to check for fillers.
Fillers #5 - But If I Pause, Won’t People Interrupt Me? (0:53)
The bottom line: Though a common tactic, fillers are an ineffective way to stop interruptions. In contrast, people who have mastered filler-free speech are typically interrupted less often than those who rely upon fillers. To signal your desire to keep speaking, actively engage your body language, eye contact, and energy level.

Try this! Below you will find an actual transcript of a famous public figure answering a reporter’s question. To hear the impact of speaking with and without fillers, take a moment now to read each of the statements out loud.

(Politician) "You know, I think really, um, this is sort of a unique moment both in our, you know, in our country's history, and, and in . . . in, you know, my own life, and, um, you know, we are facing, you know, unbelievable um challenges."

Compare this to. . . "This is a unique moment in our country’s history and in my own life. We are facing unbelievable challenges.”

Which statement would inspire more confidence in this politician’s capabilities and commitment to the cause?
Fillers #6 - Where Fun and Skill Building Intersect (1:04)
The bottom line: Cultivating new habits doesn’t have to be drudgery. Board games provide an excellent opportunity to blend fun with skill building.

Try this! Plan a formal game night, or print up the downloadable SoundBites Sampler and bring it with you to your next meal with friends, family, or coworkers. Other fun card packs include LifeStories, Table Topics, and Chat Pack, where everyone takes turns responding to thought-provoking questions. Games like Balderdash, Cranium, Tri-Bond, and Taboo create lively interactive banter. And the very playful Superfight enables you to debate who would win in a random matchup of oddly gifted superheroes.
Fillers #7 - Elevate Your Status in 60 Seconds or Less (0:50)
The bottom line: We make quick judgments about someone’s credibility and competence based on both verbal and nonverbal cues. Delivering your elevator pitch free of fillers or hesitation will help you set the right first impression.

Try this! To practice your elevator pitch in the real world, take a field trip to a networking meeting, conference, or cocktail party – any place where you'll have the opportunity to introduce yourself to many people. You might even attend a networking event that is completely outside of your industry so that you can practice new skills with a little anonymity.

Mini Habits

To create a Mini Habit, attach a brief practice moment to something that is already a part of your daily routine. Your cue to practice can be a time of day, a task, a person, a location, an activity, or a keyword. The more often you bring the desired behavior front of mind, the more quickly you will cement the new habit.

  • Commit to spending one minute each morning answering a prompt from the SoundBites Sampler while focusing on fillers. To ingrain the habit, don’t allow yourself to [choose one] have coffee, brush teeth, shower, or get dressed until you’ve put in the practice time.
  • If you regularly attend meetings, live or virtual, use the casual pre-meeting banter as an opportunity to chat without fillers.
  • Don’t let time spent doing domestic chores go to waste. Talk to yourself when cooking, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, making the bed, or walking the dog.
  • Reserve a short amount of your commute time for focusing on fillers. If you travel with others, try to enroll them in your practice sessions.
  • If you regularly engage in lightweight conversation with a certain neighbor, coworker, vendor, or receptionist, turn those chats into practice sessions. (Hint: They don’t need to know.)
  • Whether it’s your morning coffee stop, your workplace kitchen, or your corner market, declare the location a filler-free zone. From the time you enter, until the time you exit, keep your speech free of fillers.
  • When you hear the words “How was your weekend?” or “Tell me about your day,” let that be an internal cue to focus on eliminating fillers.
  • Never again leave a voicemail message that contains a filler. (And double check that your outgoing greeting is also filler-free.)

Skill Drills

Skill Drills give you the opportunity to focus on a desired behavior free from other distractions. By setting aside a few moments to give these exercises your full attention, you can accelerate the learning process.

The Flag Game Checklist
  • Talk for 90 seconds while trying to eliminate the use of "uh" and "um."
  • Ask a partner to raise a hand to “flag” any fillers that may slip through.
  • Play this game once a day for 20 days.
  • Use the Flag Game Checklist for daily impromptu questions.
Fictionary
  • Speaking without fillers, offer a two to three sentence definition for a gibberish word. (For example: smuftish, persivity, or dabnick)
  • Be sure to speak in complete sentences and pretend that you’re an expert!
  • Find samples of gibberish words in the SoundBites Sampler.
Snap Two!
  • Talk for 60 seconds while focusing on pausing.
  • Every time you reach the end of a sentence, snap your fingers twice before continuing with the next sentence.
  • Practice this same behavior while chatting with a friend. (But remember to only snap your fingers in your head!)
Elevator Pitch
  • Craft a one-paragraph description of who you are and the vital role you play.
  • Practice your pitch so that you can say it without fillers or hesitation.