Filled pauses - hesitation sounds emitted whilst speaking - appear to mean something, but their overall impact on listeners is varied. Successful speaking may be more heavily influenced by your message than the way it’s delivered.
Nicholas Christenfeld, from the University of California-San Diego, conducted two studies into whether ‘ums’ are noticed, and to what extent they influence an audience’s perception of speakers. The first study - using a simple questionnaire - found that “even though ums do not seem to be a product of anxiety or lack of preparation, the average listener assumes that they are.” A further study concluded that “on subjective ratings of the speaker, filled pauses created a better impression than silent pauses, but no pauses proved best of all.”
Dr Robin Lickley, from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, suggests “there is evidence that pausing strategically can help the listener - that filled pauses can and are used rhetorically and may be effective. But we also pause hesitantly and there’s evidence that people pick up on this and can attribute negative qualities to it. On the other hand, there is also evidence that people don’t detect filled pauses. The more you focus on the message, the less you will hear the noise”.
Evidence suggests that filled pauses can create negative effects on the listener. But crucially, delivering a strong message can minimise their impact. That makes the message key, over and above how much you um and err.
The Business Link guide ‘Effective selling’ lists ‘Work out the key message’ as number one tip for effective sales presentations, alongside advice and guidance on dealing with sales nerves.
Interesting. As a broadcast journalist I was trained to “de-umm” every interview, a habit I still have, where the “ums” are removed before an interview is aired.
I think context is the most important thing. Radio listeners generally find an interviewee who “ums” a lot intensely annoying, particularly when set against a professional interviewer. Equally, when I am training in media or presentation skills, I encourage people to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse to ensure fluency and reduce the “ums” and “ers”. But you can never completely eradicate them, it’s an unconscious part of human speech.
Part of it comes from a sub-conscious desire to “fill the gap” as silence is felt to be awkward and uncomfortable. It’s the reason why good salespeople always leave a long silence to allow the prospect to make the next move, or why a radio interviewer will sometime leave a really awkward question hanging. Equally, silence between key words to emphasise a point can be the most powerfull tool in getting your message across.