Eliminate Filler Words: A 3-Step Strategy for Confident Speaking

Do you use a lot of filler words when you speak and you don’t know how to stop? Like, you know – like you know? See what I did there?

Here is a 3-step strategy to get rid of those filler words forever.

Step 1. Identify

Record yourself speaking for a few minutes about something you know really well

Watch it back and identify what are the filler words that you’re using and when

Step 2: Pause

Now that you’re aware of which filler words you’re using and when – try to become more and more aware of it as you’re talking in the moment.

When you feel the temptation to use a filler word, just pause instead. This strategy works well when using filler words to connect one idea with the other

You can just finish idea one – full stop – pause and then start with idea 2

This strategy does not always work when you forget what you want to say in the middle of the sentence In that case, you can go to

Step 3 – Replace

Times when you can’t just take a pause or you feel awkward because you’re in the middle of a sentence

You can replace the filler words by talking about what’s going on in your head

Sounds weird but it really works

The beautiful thing about this strategy is that once you identify the filler words that you’re likely to use and when you’re likely to use them, you can pretty much get rid of them forever.