You're Losing Credibility Every Time You Say This

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rodROnPOMgw

Listen back to the last presentation you gave. Or the last sales call. Count how many times you said "um", "uh", "you know", "basically", or "obviously."

Most people are shocked when they actually do this.

These words are called filler words and they're doing more damage than you realise. Every time one comes out, the person listening subconsciously registers that you're uncertain. That you might not know your material. That you're not fully in control.

It doesn't matter how good your content is. Filler words undermine it.

Why It Happens

There are two main reasons people fall into this habit.

The first is lack of preparation. When you don't fully know your material, your brain buys itself time by filling the silence while it catches up. The ums and ahs are essentially your brain stalling.

The second is habit. You've been speaking this way for years, often because the people around you speak the same way. It becomes automatic.

The Fix

Your grade three English teacher already gave you the answer. Punctuation exists for a reason. When you reach a comma or a full stop, you stop. You breathe. Then you carry on.

The problem is we were never taught to apply that to speaking, only to writing.

Here's the exercise. Pick up any book. Read it out loud. Every time you see a comma, a full stop, or any punctuation, squeeze your leg firmly, close your mouth, pause, then continue. Do this for ten minutes a day for 28 consecutive days.

What you're doing is building a new neurological pathway. You're training your brain to associate punctuation with a physical pause instead of a filler word. After 28 days something clicks and the habit starts to break.

What Changes When You Fix It

When you remove filler words, people hear you differently. You sound like you know exactly what you're talking about. Your pauses read as confidence rather than uncertainty. People take you more seriously in meetings, on sales calls, and on stage.

Silence is not a weakness in speaking. It's a tool. The best communicators use it deliberately.

If you want to go deeper on this, my public speaking video course covers this and the other communication habits that are quietly costing you credibility in business.