12
Cyanide
3y

I was suggested as a kid to “avoid using too much “uh”s and “umm”s while speaking, especially if giving a speech. It sounds bad.” And I agree.

But now, I see, that people generally don’t fucking care about how they speak. Almost every video on the internet (especially the teaching videos) is full of bloody “uh”s and “umm”s.

It’s okay once or twice, if someone genuinely forgets about something. But why the fuck is it becoming part of people’s way of speaking?

Ruins the whole experience of a video. Even if the video’s contents are actually good.

Pause if you want to, but stop the fucking moaning!

Comments
  • 2
    They only don't care when you're saying something of value, so, youtube tutorials can be excused, however, a speech must be well-prepared, so, fluency is appreciated there.
  • 3
    Those noises are an important part of spoken language. It's only a distraction if there are too many of them.
  • 1
    Many people are even afraid to look like they put any effort in
  • 1
    I'd rather hear some uhhs to pass the time rather than some awkward pauses
  • 1
    Those are used as filler words. A lot of the time they're needed because saying "um" and "ahh" is better than being silent when what you're doing doesn't match with your speech and you're reacting to how fast/slow things happen.
  • 1
    I am working on a video tutorial and after trying to record my speech live I gave up because of the many “uhm” and I am using it only as a track for a script I will record later. It takes so much time!
  • 2
    When I was just starting my career and every time I'd say "uh"/"uhm" in a conference call, my mentor would come over to my desk and *slap* a post-it note on my desk that read "STOP SAYING UM."--in thick black sharpie. It trained me to pause instead, even if it fell in an awkward point in the sentence, because it conveys the sense that you're thoughtfully and carefully choosing your words. As long as the pauses aren't too long or too frequent, I've found that people rather hang on in anticipation for your next word as opposed to zoning out (or worse, interrupting you).

    Thanks for coming to "my........Ted Talk".
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