From the course: Delivery Tips for Speaking in Public

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Reduce filler words when speaking

Reduce filler words when speaking

From the course: Delivery Tips for Speaking in Public

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Reduce filler words when speaking

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- We all use filler words or phrases. When used occasionally, they can sound like a natural part of your speech pattern. When used excessively, they make us question your credibility. What do I mean by fillers? They're the words or sounds that we make to fill the space when we're thinking about what we really want to say. Um, uh, so, like, you know are all popular fillers. Most of us find ourselves using fillers when we need to pause to think for a beat about what we want to say. When speaking in front of a crowd, silence can be scary, I get it. But the instinct to fill that space with anything, even a meaningless sounds, disrupts your presentation. Fillers cut into your credibility. They make you sound unsure. If you don't know what you're talking about, why should your audience listen? You don't want them questioning if you know your stuff. But a pause or a tiny break in your speaking isn't awkward, unless you make it that way. So instead of saying um or uh, pause and take a break…

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