You stop saying "um," "uh," and "like" by replacing them with silence. Every time you feel a filler coming, you pause instead. This technique, the Pause Swap, is the single most effective method for reducing verbal fillers. It works because fillers are placeholder sounds your brain produces while searching for the next word. A silent pause serves the same function without the credibility cost.
Most people don't realize how often they use fillers until they hear a recording. Studies show that speakers typically underestimate their filler usage by 3 to 5x. The average conversational English speaker uses 5 to 8 fillers per minute in casual speech. In professional settings, that number needs to drop below 4 per minute to avoid impacting perceived competence.
That awareness is the first step, and it's where Wellspoken's Filler Eliminator drill comes in. You speak on any topic for 1 to 5 minutes while the app detects every filler word in real time, then shows your total count, fillers per minute, a breakdown by type (um, uh, like, you know), and a timeline of exactly when each one occurred. Most people's filler rate drops noticeably within the first few sessions just from seeing the data.
Why Do I Say "Um" and "Uh" So Much?
Your brain says "um" to hold your speaking turn while it searches for the next word. It's a speech planning signal, not a bad habit or a character flaw. Linguists call these "filled pauses," and they're universal across all languages. Every language has its equivalent of "um."
Research by psycholinguist Herbert Clark at Stanford showed that "um" and "uh" serve slightly different functions. "Uh" typically signals a brief retrieval delay, your brain needs half a second to find the next word. "Um" signals a longer planning delay, your brain needs more time because it's choosing between multiple directions or organizing a complex thought.
This distinction matters for reducing them. If you primarily say "uh," your issue is word retrieval speed, and the fix is simple: pause briefly and let the word come. If you primarily say "um," your issue is thought organization, and the fix involves structuring your thoughts before speaking.
Both types respond to the same core technique: replacing the sound with silence. Your brain still gets its planning time. You just stop vocalizing during it.
Why Do I Say "Like" So Much?
"Like" is a different category from "um" and "uh." Linguists classify it as a discourse marker, not a filled pause. It serves three functions in modern English:
Approximation: "It took like three hours" (meaning roughly three hours). Here, "like" signals that the number is an estimate.
Quotative: "And she was like, 'that's amazing'" (introducing reported speech). This is the most common use among younger speakers.
Hedging: "It was like... not great" (softening a negative statement). Here, "like" cushions the impact.
The problem is when "like" appears where it serves none of these functions: "I was like working on the like project and like realized that like the deadline is like tomorrow." In that sentence, "like" is pure verbal filler, adding no meaning while breaking the sentence into choppy fragments.
The fix for excessive "like" usage is different from "um/uh." Because "like" is a habitual pattern rather than a planning signal, the best intervention is awareness tracking: record yourself for one minute, count every "like," and see the actual number. Most people are shocked. That shock creates motivation, and motivation creates change.
How Many Filler Words Is Too Many?
Below 2 fillers per minute sounds polished. Between 2 and 4 is professional. Above 5 starts hurting credibility.
A study published in Advances in Physiology Education found that when fillers exceeded approximately 1.3% of total words in professional presentations, audience comprehension and speaker credibility both declined proportionally. For a 150-word-per-minute speaker, that threshold translates to roughly 2 fillers per minute.
Separate research found that listeners rated filler-free speakers as well-educated 57% of the time, compared to 36% for speakers with frequent fillers who were equally knowledgeable. The gap was entirely about delivery smoothness.
Context matters. In casual conversation, fillers are socially normal and even functional: they signal that you're thinking, that you're not finished, and that you're engaged. Trying to eliminate every filler from casual speech sounds robotic. The high-value targets are professional contexts: meetings, presentations, interviews, and client calls, where credibility is being actively evaluated.
What Is the Pause Swap Method?
The Pause Swap replaces every filler with a silent beat of approximately one second. When you feel an "um" or "like" forming, you close your mouth and wait. The word you're looking for will arrive. It always does.
Here's why this feels harder than it sounds: speakers perceive their own silences as lasting 3 to 4x longer than listeners perceive them. A one-second pause feels like four seconds to you. To your audience, it barely registers. In fact, research on vocal confidence shows that deliberate pausing is perceived as a confidence signal. The listener reads your silence as thoughtfulness and control. More on how pausing builds confidence.
The Pause Swap in practice:
Instead of: "We need to, um, rethink our, uh, approach to, like, customer onboarding."
Do this: "We need to [pause] rethink our [pause] approach to [pause] customer onboarding."
The paused version sounds cleaner, more authoritative, and more intentional. Same content, dramatically different impact.
Start practicing in low-stakes situations. Use the Pause Swap in a voice note to a friend. Use it when ordering coffee. Use it when explaining your weekend to a coworker. Build the muscle in easy contexts so it's available in hard ones.
How Do I Train Myself to Use Fewer Fillers?
Progressive practice: start with 30 seconds of filler-free speech and build to 5 minutes over four weeks. Trying to eliminate all fillers overnight doesn't work because the habit is deeply embedded. Gradual progression builds sustainable change.
The Filler Reduction Ladder:
Week 1: Awareness. Record yourself speaking for 2 minutes daily. Count every filler. Don't try to eliminate them yet. Just count. Write the number down. Most people's counts drop by 20-30% in the first week from awareness alone.
Week 2: The 30-Second Clean. Speak for 30 seconds on any topic with zero fillers. Use the Pause Swap for every urge. Record and verify. Once you can do 30 seconds clean, try 45. Then 60.
Week 3: The Clean Minute. Sustain one full minute of filler-free speech. This is the milestone where the Pause Swap starts becoming automatic. You'll still catch fillers in unrecorded conversation, but the gap between practice and performance starts closing.
Week 4: Extended Clean. Push to 2 minutes, then 3, then 5. By week 4, your default filler rate in professional settings will be noticeably lower. You'll still use occasional fillers, that's human, but the frequency will drop from "distracting" to "barely noticeable."
Track your fillers-per-minute across recordings. Seeing the number decline is motivating and makes the improvement concrete. The Wellspoken Index does this automatically, showing your total fillers, fillers per minute, a breakdown by type, and a timeline showing exactly when fillers occurred during your recording.
Are Filler Words Always Bad?
No. In casual conversation, fillers serve real social functions. They signal that you're thinking, that you haven't finished your turn, and that you're engaged in the conversation. Eliminating every filler from casual speech makes you sound rehearsed and slightly robotic.
Research from the University of Texas found that moderate filler use in informal contexts actually increased listeners' perception that the speaker was being genuine and spontaneous. The "perfect speaker" effect can backfire in social settings where authenticity matters more than polish.
The distinction: fillers are problematic when they're frequent enough to distract from your content or when they appear in contexts where credibility is being evaluated (presentations, interviews, client meetings). In a coffee chat with a friend, "um" is fine. In a board presentation, it costs you.
The practical rule: reduce fillers in professional speaking contexts. In casual conversation, don't worry about them unless you notice they're becoming excessive (more than 8 per minute, which makes any conversation feel choppy).
For a deeper dive into the linguistics of why we use fillers, read What Are Filler Words and Why Do You Use Them?.
Key Takeaway
Replace fillers with silence using the Pause Swap: every time you feel an "um," "uh," or "like" forming, close your mouth and pause for one second. Start with the Awareness phase (record and count), then progress through the Filler Reduction Ladder from 30-second clean speech to 5-minute clean speech over four weeks. Focus on professional contexts where credibility matters most. In casual conversation, moderate fillers are fine.
FAQs
Why can't I stop saying "like" even when I try?
"Like" is a discourse marker habit, not a processing signal like "um." Habits are harder to break through willpower alone because they're triggered automatically by conversational patterns. The most effective intervention is awareness: record yourself, count your "likes," and hear the pattern objectively. Once your brain recognizes the habit, it starts flagging it in real-time, which gives you the split-second window to pause instead.
Do filler words make me sound less intelligent?
Research shows that fillers affect perceived competence, not actual intelligence. Listeners rate speakers with frequent fillers as less prepared and less confident, even when the content is identical to a filler-free version. The perception gap is real: in one study, filler-free speakers were rated as well-educated 57% of the time versus 36% for speakers with frequent fillers, even though both groups said the same things.
How long does it take to significantly reduce fillers?
Most people see a 30-50% reduction in filler rate within two weeks of daily awareness practice (recording and counting). Reaching consistently low filler rates in professional settings typically takes three to four weeks of progressive practice. The Pause Swap becomes automatic faster than most people expect because it leverages the brain's existing pause mechanism, you're just removing the sound.
Track your exact filler count, rate, and type breakdown with the Wellspoken Index. Download Wellspoken