We dig deep to find out what the research says about our use of fillers. Could they be more positive than we thought? How do we reduce them?
Let’s talk about filler words, the ums and ahs that inevitably slip out when you’re in front of a large crowd or in an interview. I come across two common things when it comes to this topic a lot. First, that these fillers are the equivalent of saying Voldemort. 😱
And the fix? Just to take a pause instead of saying um. Simple right?
It’s something that never sat right with me. Will people just pause instead? That’s not what I’ve experienced or found with clients.
So I decided to dive a little deeper to see what the research says about both the good and bad when it comes to all types of filler words and phrases. I’ll also walk through 3 ways, inspired by some pretty cool studies, to help reduce filler words if they’re a problem. You may be surprised as to what I found.
What are Fillers anyways?
First things first – what are fillers? Andrew Dlugan does a really great job of categorizing types of fillers that people use most.
- Filler sounds: the ums, ahs, and ers, of the world.
- Filler words: Actual words that are used to fill space (my personal filler is “so” 🤦♂️). Common examples include and, like, or therefore.
- Filler phases: Combinations of words used repeatedly – “and so”, “you know”, or “I think.”
As to why we use them? It’s a bit more difficult to nail down. Some people find they’ll use more fillers in certain scenarios like networking. For others, it comes up when they’re nervous or have run out of things to say.
The conclusion? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to reducing them. There also may be some more organic reasons as to why they’ve entered our everyday speeches. The byproduct is that they may not be all bad.
Let’s start with how they might be a good thing 👇
Filler Words? Positive?
I know…ask anyone and they’ll tell you to work as hard as you can to remove filler words, sounds, and phrases. But what if there’s a reason why we naturally use them?
Shockingly, I stumbled across a lot more theory around the potential positive effects of fillers than I thought. They often came back to around two central themes.
First, it may help the listener process a speaker’s message faster and more accurately. It can also have a large impact on the perception of whether or not we think a speaker is honest and authentic.
Fillers can help people understand your message
Perhaps the most obvious effect, fillers show that a speaker is still actively speaking – that they still want the airtime. This enhances the flow of communication in a conversation because it avoids interruptions and confusion over when someone should respond.
Jean E. Fox Tree wanted to test whether having the sound uh in speeches had an impact. People were asked to listen to a speech (some with uhs planted and others without). They then had to pick words from the speech in a test.
What Fox Tree found was that people were able to find the words faster when there were uhs planted in the speech. This was also true in Barr’s study that asked people to pick out shapes when listening to them being described.
These studies show us that filler words can be a huge factor in how we, as listeners, both process and retain information. A common explanation is that fillers can be a signal for listeners to refocus their attention because they know that something new is about to be shared. That’s pretty cool!
Fillers show everyone you’re human too
Filler words are found universally across cultures. For one reason or another, we use them 🤷🏻♂️. The chart, put together by Cognition, shows us just that! My love for anime can confirm the filler etto is used a lot!
Since fillers are so integrated as part of our language, a few studies have looked at whether fillers can actually make us seem more relatable and authentic as speakers. The way researchers studied this was to look at the relationship between someone who was lying versus telling the truth.
Villar found that people telling the truth generally used more filler words. In one instance, they reviewed the speeches of people who were telling the truth versus lying. The “results showed that instances of um were significantly more frequent and longer acoustic duration during truth-telling than during lying.”
Perhaps more importantly, research in the Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour found that people filter out fillers to a certain extent. “Saying um instead of leaving a moment of silence does no damage to the ratings of eloquence, and actually makes the speaker seem less anxious.”
Ultimately, these researchers put a case forward that fillers can show our listener that we’re relatable and authentic. It’s definitely an intriguing proposition 🤔.
When Filler Words Suck
We’re not in the clear just yet. It’s still absolutely true that the use of filler words can directly impact your credibility and the listener’s ability to understand your message.
There’s a ton of research that talks about the negative impacts of fillers. Let’s take one example. Pytko and Reese asked roughly 100 people to evaluate speakers and found that speakers with fillers were seen as being less prepared and less effective in public speaking. Talk about damage to someone’s credibility 🙊.
Mortar Research did a larger study with 2000 people. The research participants listened to two speeches about Brexit. One speech had no fillers but was full of fake news. The other? Factually accurate but had fillers.
- 57% of listeners thought the fake news speaker was well educated. Only 36% thought the same of the other.
- The factually incorrect speaker also was rated to have better people skills, more intelligence, and was seen as more attractive!
The Acceptable Count of Fillers
There seems to be a tipping point when filler words start becoming a problem. Frederick, Conrad et al. listened to telemarketers invite people to take part in a survey. They counted the number of filler words each caller used to see if the number of filler words had any relationship with the number of people who agreed to be part of the survey. And it did.
The more filler words the telemarketer used, the less likely the person on the other side agreed to do the survey. This began to really take shape after 1.28 fillers per 100 words.
What this tells me is that some filler words are a-okay 👌. But eventually, it really starts to have an impact on the speaker.
What does this all mean?
After digesting this information, where do we land? It’s clear to me that accidentally using filler words in a speech or during a networking session is not a cardinal sin!
But, there comes a point when they go from being a natural part of speech to a distraction from your message. It’s something to be mindful of, not overly worried about.
And if you’re someone who tends to use filler words more than you think is necessary, keep reading! I found 3 ways (backed by science and my experience, of course) that just might do the trick.
3 Ways to Reduce Filler Words
Like most things, trying to alter your natural habits takes a little bit of experimentation. The same applies to reducing filler words. That’s why we’ve found three research-driven ways for you to try!
1. Immediate Feedback
A paper published in Basic Communication Course Annual looked at whether getting immediate feedback helped eliminate filler words. The researchers asked a group of students taking public speaking courses to do a speech.
Each time they used a filler word, a penny was dropped into a jar. After the speech, the professor provided the student with immediate feedback on the specific type and count of filler words. They then did a speech another time with those notes in mind.
- Students who got didn’t get the feedback used 3 times more filler words compared to those who did not.
- Even groups who received delayed feedback saw a 60% reduction of their filler words 🙌
Getting Feedback in Reality
Here’s what you can do to replicate a feedback loop for yourself that worked well for me.
- Recruit a friend, a camera, or a communications coach (like me) and speak!
- Get a list and count of each filler word used.
- Analyze when you’re most likely to use those words (e.g. at the beginning of paragraphs).
- Use that information to keep a mental note and work towards eliminating them when you speak next.
2. Keep a consistent pace!
Another key study that could help reduce fillers is one using a metronome! Two groups of people were asked to speak – one group had a metronome in the background and the other was asked to speak freely.
Those who spoke with a metronome had a lot fewer fillers (8.98 vs 2.06, to be exact). The idea here is that when your head is regulated by a consistent pace, you’re more likely to reduce fillers.
There are a few ways you could try regulating your pace. You could simply slow down the overall rate you speak. With some people who speak too quickly, their brain is also required to operate at that same pace. The moment you need to think about what’s next, those fillers just might pop up.
You could also try to speak with more structure in mind. Before you begin speaking, have a rough roadmap of what you’d like to say. From experience, this often helps guide your brain to continue at a comfortable pace! It’s easier said than done, but with a little practice, it comes much more naturally.
3. Think of the Queen?
Okay, I lied, the Queen can’t help you here 😅
But there’s been some evidence that points to people using far fewer filler words when they think they’re in a formal setting.
Professors, for example, used 3.23 fillers per minute in lectures versus 5.18 in in-person conversations – these results have been repeated multiple times!
Final Thoughts
We’ve come a long way. If you’ve read this from top to bottom, well done 👍
There are a few takeaways that I want to re-emphasize. The most important? Don’t stress if you have a few filler words. Yes, they can be a distraction and actually negatively impact our impression. But they’re a common part of speech and we’ve kind of learned to filter them out.
If you’re in the camp of people who use them a little bit more than you need to, there are a few ways to try and tackle the issue – from getting immediate feedback to keeping a consistent pace using structure or even using some visualization.
Liked our research-driven approach? Learn more about our coaching programs and group workshops!
