Try talking for a few minutes
without saying um
er uh hmm And
for good measure, avoid
like and you know or
so. So, uh, not that easy,
is it? These words are fillers.
Like the inside of Twinkies
essential but somewhat
mysterious in nature. Chances
are, you've been told to avoid
fillers. Uninterrupted orations
will make you sound more
intelligent, more thoughtful.
But that might be all wrong
nixing the words could leave us
sounding robotic, unnatural.
And, honestly who wants a
hollow Twinkie? Let's get to
the good stuff. The usefulness
of these mono-syllables.
"This has been my backyard
for the last seven years."
"There's a hawk."
Barack Obama was known
for punctuating
his speeches with extended
uhs.
And, Justice Antonin Scalia
peppered his musings with plenty
of fillers. Two of the
These are two of the most
cerebral men Washington has
seen in decades. Scientists
have been trying to suss out why
these verbal crutches persist:
Considered speech: Fillers can
be a sign of thoughtfulness,
that you are pausing to think
about what you are saying, to
make sure you are saying it the
right way. Context:
Like, for example, can
signal imprecision, as in, He
is, like, 6 feet tall.
"Uh, can signal a delay and
um a more significant
delay during which thoughts are
being gathered. Tone:
Um can also soften
what's being said Um, I
don't agree with what you're
saying is somewhat less
confrontational than, I
don't agree with what you're
saying. Or to bring up a
delicate subject Um, how are
things going with that new
roommate? It's important
to note, fillers do serve a
purpose for the speaker, like
taking time to think.
"um"
and for the listener by
providing sign posts for where
the conversation might be going.
"Like that is just the wildest
thing."
So, the truth is,
uh, filler is a misnomer.
"But do you think it's like a
cry for help."
A linguistic
anthropologist, writes for
Quartz. As you can see, these
discourse markers do an immense
amount of important social and
emotional work for us. They add
nuance and richness to our
speech. Are there times, when
it's wise to avoid
fillers. Sure. Defending
your PhD dissertation delivering
wedding vows denying you're an
arsonist. Some occasions call
for sturdy assertions. And of
course, when you're writing.
That's uh for clarity. You
know?
