Ums Ahs and You Knows - Oh My

First of all, understand that "um's" and "uh's" and other non-words come from a little brain hiccup, nerves, and a terror of unfilled space. Here's the good news. Not only does almost every speaker (with the possible exception of Robin Williams, whose brain is in perpetual overdrive) experience this; empty space is good. Really good. In fact, pauses are as, if not more, powerful than words. They signify to the audience that you've said something so important you want them to take a minute to let it sink in. You have, and they should. It may feel very unnatural at first, but keep at it. (Remember, it takes 21 days to make something a habit, or eliminate one.) You've probably been "umming" or "ahing" for years; it takes a while to unlearn. More important, although the silence of a pause feels awkward to you, to your audience it's a gift. It makes your presentation easier to hear. They don't have to weed through the non-words to get to the real words.

Years ago I was performing a 12 minute monologue I had practiced for weeks, knew inside out and backwards, when one night in the middle of a performance, my mind went black. I mean black, nothing was there. I don't think I could have told you my name. I stood there on stage, alone, nodding and smiling at the audience, mind black as night. It felt like a train could have been run through that silence. I was almost ready to turn and walk off the stage when, mercifully, the lines came back and I continued the performance. As luck would have it, the show was taped that night. I was eager (and terrified) to see my huge gaff. Unbelievably, when I watched the tape I couldn't find the spot where I'd gone blank. I replayed the monologue several times. Where was the vastness I had felt as I stood there praying to be beamed off the stage? As it turned out, what had felt like a lifetime to me was actually not even 30 seconds in real world time. No one in the audience could have known.

Remember, silence is golden. And powerful. And even more important, not distracting. Don't try to fill empty spaces with non-words. Your audience will thank you for it. And better than that; you'll be heard.