Used sparingly, there's nothing wrong with filler words. When you use them excessively, however, they can detract from your confidence and credibility. Imagine presenting a strong recommendation to your board of directors and using um in between every word; the constant fillers would undermine your message.
Do you use filler words? You know, those little words that we add into our sentences to help us speak?
Well, there's actually a problem with using filler words.
First, let's take a look at what filler words are.
Filler words are words like "um," "ah," "like," "you know," and "just." They're words that we often use to buy time while we're speaking.
While filler words may seem harmless, they can actually be quite detrimental to our communication. Here's why:
1. Filler words make us sound less confident.
When we use filler words, we sound like we're not sure of what we're saying. This makes us sound less confident and less credible.
2. Filler words can make us lose our train of thought.
Filler words can actually make it harder for us to remember what we were going to say. That's because we're not really focusing on the content of our message when we're using them.
3. Filler words can make us sound like we're babbling.
Babbling is when we use a lot of words without really saying anything. When we use filler words, we can sound like we're babbling instead of communicating effectively.
4. Filler words can make us sound lazy.
When we use filler words, it can sound like we're not really trying to communicate. We're just filling up space with words instead of saying something meaningful.
5. Filler words can make us sound uneducated.
When we use filler words, we can sound like we don't really know what we're talking about. This can make it look like we're not educated or smart.