What counts as a filler word
Linguists call them filled pauses or disfluencies. For a speaker, the useful definition is simpler: if you can delete the word and the sentence means the same thing, it is a filler.
| Type | Common examples | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Sounds | um, uh, er, ah, mm | At the start of an answer and between clauses |
| Single words | like, so, well, right, okay, basically, actually, literally, honestly | Sentence openings; before a number or a name |
| Phrases | you know, I mean, kind of, sort of, at the end of the day, to be honest | When softening an opinion |
| Tags | …right?, …you know what I mean?, …and stuff, …or whatever | At the end of sentences, in place of a full stop |
The same word is not always a filler. “Like” in “it works like a spreadsheet” is doing a job. “So” at the start of a conclusion is a signpost. Count a word only when it is padding.
Why we use filler words
- To hold the floor. A sound tells the listener “I have not finished”, which matters in fast conversations where a silence invites an interruption.
- To buy thinking time. The mouth starts before the sentence is ready.
- Because silence feels longer to the speaker than to the listener. A one-second pause feels like five when you are the one standing up.
- To soften. “Kind of” and “I mean” make a statement feel less blunt, and less committed.
- Out of habit. Fillers are picked up from the people around us and stop being noticed.
A few fillers in conversation are normal and nobody minds them. They become a problem when they are frequent enough for listeners to notice the pattern, or when they cluster around your most important point and make you sound unsure of it.
What fillers sound like in practice
With fillers
“So, um, basically what we found is that, like, customers are, you know, kind of confused by the pricing page, so, yeah.”
Without
“Customers are confused by the pricing page. [pause] Here is what we found.”
The second version is shorter, and the pause does the job the fillers were trying to do: it gives you time to think. It also gives the listener time to take in what you said.
Self-count exercise: find your fillers
You cannot reduce what you have not counted. This takes ten minutes.
Record two minutes of unscripted speech
Use your phone. Answer a question that makes you think, for example “What is the hardest part of your job and why?” Do not prepare.
Listen with a pen
Play it back and make a tally mark for every filler, one row per word: um, like, you know, so. Listen twice; you will miss some the first time.
Work out your rate and your top two
Divide the total by two to get fillers per minute. Circle the two most frequent words. Those two are your whole project for the next fortnight.
Note where they fall
Mark whether each one came at the start of a sentence, in the middle, or at the end. Most people have one dominant position, and each position has a different fix.
A step-by-step method to reduce filler words
Replace the sound with a breath
A filler and an inhale cannot happen at the same time. Whenever you feel an “um” coming, close your mouth and breathe in through your nose. Practice on ten single-sentence answers to easy questions.
Fix the start of the sentence
If your fillers come first (“So, um…”), decide your first three words before you speak. Have someone ask you questions, wait a full second, then begin with the subject: “The main reason is…”
Shorten your sentences
Mid-sentence fillers appear when a sentence is longer than your plan for it. Speak in units of one idea, land the full stop, breathe, start the next.
End on the last real word
If you tag sentences with “…you know?” or “…so, yeah”, practice dropping your pitch on the final word and stopping. Record five closing sentences and check that nothing trails after them.
Use a structure for answers
Fillers multiply when you do not know where the sentence is going. A simple pattern such as point, reason, example, point gives you the next step, so you need less thinking time.
One-minute drill with a listener
Speak for sixty seconds on any topic while a friend taps the table at every filler. It is uncomfortable and it works quickly, because it makes you hear them in real time.
Count again in a week
Repeat the two-minute recording with a new question and compare the rate. Aim for fewer, not zero. Then pick the next word on your list.
Practice answering without the “um”
Run the method in a realistic exchange. In SayNow AI you choose a scenario such as a job interview, answer an AI conversation partner out loud in real time, and get a score and suggestions afterwards, with fluency as one of the four areas assessed.
Free to download · iOS and Android
Common mistakes
Mistake
Trying to eliminate every filler at once. You become so busy monitoring yourself that you lose your thread.
Do this instead
Work on one word at a time, and only in practice sessions at first.
Mistake
Swapping one filler for another: “um” disappears and “so” appears in every sentence.
Do this instead
The replacement is silence, not a different word.
Mistake
Speaking faster to leave no gaps.
Do this instead
Slow down. Fillers thrive at speed because the mouth outruns the plan.
Mistake
Policing yourself in the middle of an important meeting.
Do this instead
Train in low-stakes settings. In the real meeting, think about your listener and your next point.