How to Reduce Filler Words: Stop Saying Um and Like

To reduce filler words, record a short answer, listen for one repeated habit, and rehearse a pause where it interrupts your point. Compare another answer of similar length and difficulty. Keep the focus on whether the message becomes easier to follow, rather than trying to remove every hesitation from your speech.

Start with one target: “um,” “like,” or a repeated opening such as “so, basically.” Working on a specific moment gives you a clear next attempt. Our guide to becoming more articulate covers the wider skills of organizing and delivering the answer.

Try a Short Recording Before Counting Anything

Answer this prompt for about a minute: “What is something you recently changed your mind about, and why?” Use a solo recording so you can review it without capturing someone else's conversation.

Listen once for the meaning. Could a listener tell what changed and why? On the second listen, mark the moments where a repeated word made the answer harder to follow.

Choose one pattern, such as three fillers before the main point. Try the answer again with a brief pause and a direct opening. You are comparing two attempts at the same task, not giving your entire speaking ability a score.

What Are Filler Words, Actually?

People often use “filler words” to mean any small word or sound they wish they had said less often. That can include “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” “actually,” and “basically.” The words do not all serve the same function.

In their 2002 paper on “uh” and “um”, Herbert Clark and Jean Fox Tree examined the proposal that these sounds signal expected delays in speech. That is a reason to take their conversational role seriously, not a prescription for how many a person should use.

Other words can clarify, connect, soften, or introduce a thought. “I mean” may introduce a correction. “So” can signal a consequence. Count the pattern in context before deciding what to change.

How to Stop Saying Like

Begin by separating meanings. Removing the same spelling everywhere can damage a sentence that was already clear.

Linguist Valerie Fridland discusses approximation and reported-speech uses in this interview about “like”. The examples above are our own. A spoken context can carry nuance that a short transcript misses.

Practice One Place Where “Like” Repeats

If your answer starts “So, like, I think, like…,” try waiting until you have the first point, then say it in a short sentence.

Practice version:

I changed my mind about taking the earlier train. It costs less, but I would need an expensive taxi to reach the station.

If you repeatedly say “like” while searching for a specific word, practice a plain description instead. “The instructions could mean two things” is a useful sentence even if “ambiguous” does not arrive immediately. Our speaking-vocabulary exercises give you a separate place to work on word choice.

Do not replace every “like” with the same new word. “Because” adds a reason; “about” signals approximation. Neither is a universal substitute. Choose the sentence that preserves what you mean.

How to Reduce Um and Uh

Pick a short explanation you know well. Before you start, decide on its first point. Say one sentence, let it end, and pause while you prepare the next thought.

Toastmasters' practice guidance recommends deliberate pauses as an alternative to habitual fillers. Treat that as a technique to try, not a requirement to police every sound.

Try these three locations separately:

1. Before the answer: Pause, then state your point.
2. Between points: Finish the first idea before introducing the second.
3. Before an example: Say “For example,” then give the example when it is ready.

If you need more time, a useful phrase may be clearer than a string of sounds: “Let me think through that,” or “I need a moment to check the detail.” Use it when it is true, not as another automatic opening for every answer.

Compare the Message, Not Just the Count

Here is an illustrative passage with four selected uses: one “um” and three “likes.” Two of those uses of “like” have obvious meaning in the example.

Um, I like the smaller venue. It holds like forty people, and, like, we could hear each other there.

• “Um” is the initial hesitation.
• “I like” expresses a preference.
• “Like forty” approximates the capacity.
• The final “like” is a candidate to remove in this practice version.

A possible revision is:

I like the smaller venue. It holds about forty people, and we could hear each other there.

The revision preserves the preference and the uncertainty about capacity. Reporting “four bad words eliminated” would be inaccurate. There were four selected occurrences, their functions differed, and the revised answer still uses “like” meaningfully.

This is an editorial demonstration. It is not a before-and-after customer result or proof of a typical improvement.

Copy a Filler-Word Review Worksheet

The Toastmasters Ah-Counter log is another example of making speech habits observable. Our worksheet adds questions about meaning and the location of the repetition so the count has a purpose.

Compare recordings of similar length, topic familiarity, and difficulty. A short rehearsed answer and a long unexpected question are different tasks. Fewer fillers in the shorter recording alone do not establish progress.

If you record for different durations, a rate can provide context: selected occurrences divided by recording minutes. Always keep the raw count and duration alongside it, and keep meaningful uses separate. There is no universal ideal rate for every speaker or situation.

Make the Next Attempt Easier to Follow

Sometimes a filler cluster sits inside a sentence carrying too many ideas. Give that sentence less work.

Crowded: “So, basically, the thing about the trip, um, is the cost and the timing and, like, whether we can all leave Friday.”

More organized: “We need to decide two things: what we can spend and whether Friday works.”

That is a change in structure, not just a deletion exercise. If most of your difficult moments look like this, practice organizing thoughts before speaking alongside filler awareness.

If you are rushing, try a more comfortable pace and compare the recordings. Use the speaking-rate calculator as context, not as an instruction to hit a single number. The useful question is whether the listener can follow your words and pauses.

A Small Practice Routine

First session: Record an answer and choose one pattern. Do not try to correct every habit at once.

Next session: Repeat the same kind of answer with one planned pause or a clearer opening. Listen for whether the change helped the message.

Another session: Try a new prompt of similar difficulty. This checks whether you can use the adjustment beyond a memorized answer.

In a real conversation: Give your attention back to the other person. You do not need to maintain a running count while they speak. Review one memorable moment afterward if that is useful.

Expect the task and situation to affect what you hear. One difficult recording does not invalidate a clearer one. Keep a few brief notes across sessions instead of judging progress from a single count.

When an App Can Help

Articulated includes filler patterns in feedback after a recorded speaking attempt. Its filler-word practice workflow gives you a place to record, review relevant feedback, and try another answer with one change.

Check automated observations against the recording. A transcript can omit sounds, mishear words, or miss why a word was used. AI feedback is material to review, not an authoritative judgment of your communication.

The exercises here work with your phone recorder. Articulated is free to download, with a subscription required for premium practice. Our product guide explains its recorded drills and post-session feedback.

Sources and Practice Limits

Sources were checked September 9, 2026. Linguistic research explains possible functions of speech markers; the coaching resources offer practice methods. Neither establishes a guaranteed percentage reduction or a timetable for these exercises.

Articulated publishes this guide and offers the app mentioned above. See our editorial standards for sourcing and corrections, and the fluency, pace, and delivery hub for related practice.

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