No More 'Um's: Your Guide to Speaking Like a Pro!

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Filler words. We all know them, we all use them, and let’s be real, they’re annoying. You might think it’s just you fumbling through a sentence with a bunch of ‘uhs’ and ‘ums’, but guess what? We’re all in the same boat, paddling away from clarity and straight into the sea of confusion.

In this episode, I dig into the strategies to kick those pesky crutch words to the curb. We chat about how you can sound smarter (yes, you heard that right) by practicing your communication skills and being more aware of what’s coming out of your mouth. With tips ranging from joining a Toastmasters club to simply taking a pause instead of filling the space with ‘you knows,’ we’re here to help you become the smooth-talking superstar you were meant to be. So let’s ditch the filler words together and find out how to express ourselves without sounding like we’re stuck in a loop of hesitation!

What Stays and What Goes?

For me, any time I can make myself or a guest sound smarter I will do it. For me, I go for the low hanging fruit. This is when um someone just has um a standalone um all by itself. You can easily highlight it and press delete. The ums I leave alone are those that run into another word.

Tool like Descript and Riverside have built in tools to remover filler words. Be careful with these as they can be a bit aggressive. A good edit is one that doesn't sound like an edit was made. This is why I don't obsess over every single filler words because we all occasionally say "um." It becomes an issue when people lose sight of what you're saying because they are distracted by how you are saying it.

Takeaways:

Filler words are the annoying little gremlins of speech we all battle with, and they're everywhere.
Practicing with Toastmasters is like getting a gym membership for your speaking skills, minus the sweat.
Confidence is key; the more prepared you are, the less you sound like a crutch-word factory.
Taking pauses instead of using filler words is like giving your brain time to catch up with your mouth, which is crucial.
Editing your recordings helps you become painfully aware of those pesky fillers, so you can kick them to the curb.
Using outlines and scripts can save you from sounding like you're making it up as you go, and trust me, that's a lifesaver!

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