I’m recently rethinking the need to correct my tendency to say Ahh, uhh, mm.

I had previously made the same observation before when I had to order from McDonald’s. Same as him, I pretty much know what to order already, yet I would still say those fillers. I then made a conscious effort to not say those whenever I ordered. And it worked, I felt like gradually I said them less — or it had seemed like it. But then, from having to call to order, I shifted to ordering via their online website or their mobile app.

This month, I attended a remote knowledge sharing session. Like me, I think the speaker also doesn’t have English as his first language. As understanding as I was of that, I still felt like there were too many pauses and too many fillers… that if that were a recording, I would have played it at 2x the speed to get to the content right away.

Those fillers (and also the long pauses that you know aren’t for effect) do the audience a disservice. It’s already hard enough as it is to gain someone’s attention all the more so when you’re also testing their patience.

So there… I will once again try to be aware about my use of fillers — be it aahs, uhmmm, or long pauses — and try to minimize them.

Thanks, Bobby Powers, for the reminder!