When you’re speaking to other people, online or in person, there can be a tendency to insert certain words, which are thought of as verbal crutches. We may do this when we’re nervous, unsure about what we’re saying, tired, or struggling to respond to a question. We use them without even noticing, but when we overuse these filler words, it can lead others to assume you’re unsure of yourself.

Words like “um,” “uh,” “so...” “well,” “you know,” or “like” are usually used at the beginning or in between ideas. Some say that this speech filler is essential to making you sound natural, but the truth is that we use them to think verbally, and this can cause your listener to get distracted from your main message.

Before you can get rid of them for good, you need to know what to look for. Here’s a list of filler words, both in speech and writing:

“Um”
“Well”
“Oh”
“Uh”
“So”
“Right”
“Literally”
“Okay”
“Like”
“Very”
“Really”

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