So what are 'Filler Words', you may be asking? Are they the words we say that continue sentences? What are they?
Well, simply the filler words or also known as filler sounds are, 'Um, uh, oh, er, & ah,' - You see they are short words we say when we are gathering our thoughts together for a short moment. It gives time for the speaker to quickly think about what will be said next. It makes the audience extend their focus on the speaker, wondering what will be said next.
It's used to prevent a sentence from ending, a slight hesitation, and a temporary pause to restart a new sentence without finishing speaking.
If I hear professionals do it: politicians, owners and CEO's of large companies, reporters, and their interviewers, I always wonder if are they that professional.
Don't get me wrong as a radio DJ, I started off with so many filler words over 2 1/2 years ago and now I hope there are fewer filler words in my 2-hour show.
At my former work, we had end-of-month meetings and on one of the last ones our then-CEO said 86 filler words/sounds (counted by myself and a co-colleague), in a space of 10 minutes, just under 9 per minute.
Other filler words/sounds that are not as bad as the ones mentioned before are, 'Like, basically, actually, supposedly, totally, you know, so, literally, therefore, anyway, well, sort of, I mean, kinda, all right' as well as many others.
