How to Stop Saying "Um" and "Uh" When You Speak

To stop saying "um," "uh," and other filler words, replace the vocal sound with a deliberate, silent pause. Filler words occur when your vocal cords produce sound while your brain retrieves the next idea. By training yourself to close your lips when thinking, you transform nervous disfluencies into calm, authoritative pauses within one to two weeks.

Vocal fillers—such as "um," "uh," "like," "you know," and "so"—are known in linguistics as speech disfluencies. Far from being a sign of low intelligence, research demonstrates that filler words are a natural byproduct of sentence planning and cognitive processing. When you speak to a camera, the perceived pressure to sound fluid often makes you terrified of silence, leading you to fill every micro-second with vocalized noise.

If you are developing your speaking confidence independently, learning to control disfluencies is a cornerstone skill. This guide connects directly with our complete manual on how to practise public speaking alone at home, where vocal control can be honed in private daily sessions.

Why do we use filler words in the first place?

We use filler words because our brains process language slightly faster or slower than our vocal apparatus can articulate it. When your working memory searches for a word, formulates an argument, or monitors an audience's reaction, your speech motor system instinctively produces a placeholder sound to hold the conversational floor.

Linguist Herbert H. Clark and psychologist Jean E. Fox Tree published landmark research in Cognition arguing that "uh" and "um" work as genuine words that speakers use to signal a delay. An "uh" typically announces a minor delay, whereas an "um" announces a longer one, such as when the speaker is still working out a complex thought.

In casual conversation, occasional fillers can even help listeners anticipate what comes next. However, in video presentations, job interviews, or public speaking, an overabundance of filler words—often exceeding 5 to 8 fillers per minute—distracts viewers from your core message and conveys uncertainty. To build broad baseline comfort in front of the lens before tackling vocal polish, you can also explore our core guide on getting over your fear of being on camera.

Are some filler words okay, or should you aim for zero?

Occasional filler words are completely natural, and aiming for absolute perfection is counterproductive. Research on everyday conversation shows that disfluencies are a normal, frequent part of spontaneous speech, even among fluent native speakers. Striving for zero filler words often backfires, making you sound robotic, over-rehearsed, and detached.

The real goal is not total elimination, but eliminating unconscious, repetitive fillers that dilute your impact.

How to become aware of your personal filler habits

You cannot fix a vocal habit that you cannot hear. Most speakers are genuinely shocked when they first listen to a recording of themselves and discover how frequently they mutter "like," "actually," or "right?"

To build awareness without frustration, adopt these three self-auditing techniques:

1. Record a 60-second spontaneous answer: Ask yourself a random prompt (e.g., "What is my favorite book and why?") and record a single take without scripting.
2. Count with a tally mark: Play back the audio only. Close your eyes and tap a pen on a notebook every single time a filler word leaves your mouth. Do not judge yourself; treat it as neutral data collection.
3. Identify your trigger point: Notice when the fillers cluster. Do you say "um" when transitioning between sentences? When beginning a video? Or when summarizing your conclusion?

Tracking these numbers manually can be tedious. If you want an objective measure, Camfident features on-device speech analysis that automatically counts your filler words, tracks your speaking speed, and measures your pauses after each practice session, allowing you to compare Day 1 with today without any audio leaving your iPhone.

The golden replacement rule: close your lips and embrace the pause

The single most effective technique to eliminate filler words is the "closed-lip rule." Whenever you feel an "um" rising in your throat, consciously press your lips together and breathe in through your nose.

A silent pause of one to two seconds feels like an eternity to the speaker, but to the viewer, it reads as poise, confidence, and deliberate emphasis. Great communicators do not speak continuously; they use silence to structure their ideas. To master the art of deliberate silence in your delivery, read our detailed guide on how to use pauses when speaking on camera.

A 7-day practice routine to reduce filler words

Follow this structured one-week drill. Each exercise requires just three to five minutes of private time each morning or evening.

1. Day 1: The baseline count. Record a two-minute impromptu video explaining your morning routine. Count your total filler words. Divide by two to get your baseline "fillers per minute" rate.
2. Day 2: The sentence-boundary stop. Speak for two minutes on any topic. Force yourself to stop completely at the end of every sentence. Count "one, two" silently in your head before starting the next sentence.
3. Day 3: The physical tap cue. Record a 90-second video while holding a pen or resting your hand on your leg. Every time you catch yourself uttering a filler word, lightly tap your finger against your thigh. This connects a physical sensation to an unconscious verbal reflex.
4. Day 4: Slow the tempo down by 15%. Rapid speech is the primary engine of disfluency. Deliberately speak at an unhurried, measured pace for two minutes. Notice how extra time between words eliminates the panic that causes "uh."
5. Day 5: Reading with punctuation pauses. Read a newspaper or magazine article aloud for two minutes. Exaggerate every comma with a one-second pause and every period with a two-second pause. Practice making zero vocal sounds during those pauses.
6. Day 6: The bullet-point challenge. Write down three single-word prompts on a card. Speak about each point for 30 seconds. When transitioning from Point 1 to Point 2, hold eye contact with your camera lens and stay totally silent for three seconds.
7. Day 7: The benchmark re-test. Repeat the two-minute impromptu exercise from Day 1 on a fresh topic. Count your filler words and compare the number with your Day 1 baseline.

Frequently Asked Questions

What words count as filler words besides "um" and "uh"?

Common lexical fillers include "like," "you know," "actually," "basically," "so," "right," and "I mean." While grammatically valid words, they become disfluencies when used unconsciously to stall for time.

How long does it take to permanently reduce filler words?

With five minutes of focused daily practice, many speakers notice a clear drop in their filler words within two weeks. Maintaining this improvement requires regular periodic recording to ensure old speech patterns do not creep back.

Why do I say "um" more when I am nervous?

Anxiety accelerates your heart rate and elevates your vocal pitch, creating a psychological rush to finish your thoughts quickly. This urgency convinces your brain that silence is dangerous, provoking immediate vocalized sounds to fill empty space.

Will pauses make me look like I forgot what to say?

No. An intentional pause of one to two seconds projects mastery, thoughtfulness, and composure. Most listeners read a calm pause as thinking, not forgetting, and it tends to sound more composed than a stream of continuous sound.

Mastering your speech patterns is not about policing every syllable. It is about replacing rushed, unconscious vocal noises with the power of quiet, deliberate pauses. Give yourself grace, practice closing your lips when thinking, and watch how your camera presence transforms.

Related articles

• How to use pauses when speaking on camera
• How to practise public speaking alone at home
• What is a good speaking pace in words per minute?