GLOSSARY · SPEECH DELIVERY
What is a filler word?
Definition
A filler word is a sound or short word you insert to fill a pause while you think — like “um,” “uh,” “er,” or “you know” in English. It carries no meaning of its own; it just holds your place in the sentence while the next idea arrives. Speakers use them without noticing.
Examples
The most common filler words in English.
Two kinds. Pure hesitation sounds carry no meaning at all. Padding words do have a dictionary meaning, but as fillers they are emptied of it — “basically” rarely marks anything basic.
Spanish has its own set, called muletillas — “eh,” “este,” “pues,” “o sea,” “tipo.” They behave differently enough that they get their own page: ¿Qué es una muletilla?
Why we say them
A filler is the sound of thinking out loud.
Speaking and planning what to say next happen at the same time. When the next phrase is not quite ready, your brain reaches for a sound to fill the gap — and, just as importantly, to hold the floor so no one jumps in while you catch up. A filler is that placeholder said out loud.
That is why they multiply exactly when you would least want them: when you are nervous, when you have not rehearsed, or when you are talking about something you have not yet organized in your head. The fix is not willpower in the moment — it is preparing the idea and practicing the delivery, so there is no gap to fill.
Filler vs. pause
A silent pause does the same job — and sounds better.
A filler and a pause solve the identical problem: you need a beat to think. The difference is what the audience hears. A short silence reads as control — you chose to stop. An “um” reads as searching — the words got away from you. Same beat, opposite impression.
So the goal is rarely to speak faster or fill every gap. It is to swap the filler for the pause you were going to take anyway. And a few fillers are fine: audiences stop noticing below a low rate, and chasing zero can make you sound stiff.
Not every “um-looking” word is a filler. “So,” “first,” and “however” look like verbal tics but often organize your points — those are discourse markers, not fillers. Where the line falls is worth its own page: filler words vs. discourse markers →
How to reduce them
Measure first. You can’t cut what you can’t hear.
- 01
Get a real count
Almost no one hears their own fillers while speaking — your attention is on the next idea, not the “um” you just said. Record a short speech and get an actual number. It is usually higher than you would guess, and that surprise is the point.
- 02
Replace the filler with a pause
Run the same passage again, and every time you feel a filler coming, stop instead. Silence feels much longer to you than to the audience. Trading the sound for the beat is the single highest-leverage change.
- 03
Repeat and re-measure
Rehearsal is what moves the number, not reading tips. Record again, watch the count drop, and keep the passages you still stumble on. Deliberate reps beat willpower on stage every time.
FAQ
Common questions
What is a filler word?
A filler word is a sound or short word you say to fill a pause while you think — “um,” “uh,” “er,” “you know,” “basically.” It carries no meaning of its own and does no grammatical job in the sentence; it just holds your place while the next idea arrives. Most speakers use them without noticing.
What are examples of filler words?
The most common English filler words are “um,” “uh,” “er,” and “erm” (pure hesitation sounds), plus words used as verbal padding: “you know,” “like,” “basically,” “literally,” “actually,” “kind of,” and “sort of.” In Spanish the equivalents are called muletillas — “eh,” “este,” “pues,” “o sea,” “tipo.”
Why do we use filler words?
You use filler words because talking and thinking happen at once. When your next idea is not quite ready, a filler buys a fraction of a second while keeping the floor so no one interrupts. That is why they multiply when you are nervous, unrehearsed, or speaking on a topic you have not organized in your head.
Are filler words always bad?
No. A few are normal and even make speech sound natural; audiences stop noticing at a low rate. They only hurt when they are frequent enough to distract, or when they replace a confident pause. And some words that look like fillers are actually doing a job — “so,” “first,” “however” organize your points. That distinction is covered in filler words vs. discourse markers.
How do I stop using filler words?
You cannot cut what you cannot measure, and almost no one hears their own fillers in real time. Record yourself, get a count, then practice the same passage replacing fillers with a short silent pause — a pause reads as confidence, a filler reads as searching. SpeakUp Coach gives you that count free, in any browser, in seconds.
What is a filler word in Spanish?
In Spanish a filler word is called a muletilla — literally a “little crutch.” The common ones are “eh,” “este,” “pues,” “o sea,” and “tipo.” The catch is that several are also ordinary Spanish words, so counting them the way you count “um” over-penalizes fluent Spanish. See ¿Qué es una muletilla? for the native-Spanish definition.
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