Umm…

You know…

Like…

So…

Filler words.

They’re so common in our everyday language.

Do they have a place in technical presentations, though?

On one hand, some are distracted by them, so perhaps they should be minimized.

On the other hand, it’s always best to be your authentic self when presenting, so if filler words are apart of that, perhaps they shouldn’t be avoided.

The question is: what should be done about filler words in technical presentations?

Poll results asking this question revealed that 75% of respondents think they should be minimized. So much for authentic self!

But what should they be minimized to?

No filler words is a tall order. 100+ filler words may be too many.

Go for the gray. Somewhere in between.

Record your presentations so you can find out how many filler words you used, then aim to use less of them next time. If you’re mindful of filler words, you’re more likely to decrease them. It’s hard to change what you don’t measure.

So…umm…get to it!