Slow and Steady
tl;dr Almost everyone uses filler words, and in conversation they go unnoticed. When you’re on stage accidentally dropping ‘um’ and ‘er’ in is a completely different matter, and can undermine your credibility with the audience. A very easy way to reduce or even eliminate them is simply to slow down your speaking - which comes a whole range of added benefits.
The parable of the tortoise and the hare even works for public speaking.
Many speakers, both new and experienced, will drop filler words in while on stage. Other related problems which interfere with delivering your message have a common cause, and it’s one that’s easy to solve with a bit of practice.
Whether it’s filler words, tripping over your own words, babbling, or anything else, the usual root of all these is speaking too quickly. Whether what you’re saying is racing ahead of your ability to keep up in your thoughts, or you’re just unconsciously putting in ‘ums’, ‘ers’, and unplanned for pauses (planned-for pauses are entirely different matter) it’s a sign that you’re speaking too fast.
This is incredibly common. Most people get on a stage, and immediately increase their normal speaking pace. For some it’s nerves, for some it’s wanting it to be over, for others it’s the excitement of delivering their message. In almost all cases, it’s the wrong thing to do (there are always exceptions - more on rushing your words to create emotion in a later article).
Not only does slowing your words prevent those dangerous filler words from creeping in, and help your head keep ahead of your mouth, it has other benefits.
As a disclaimer - there are definitely times you will want to speak quickly. I’ll cover those in another article, and they’re something you’ll learn about by working with me to improve your presentation skills.
Speed Doesn’t Increase Information
Research suggests that speaking faster does not increase information. Now, this isn’t strictly a benefit to speaking slowly, but it does show that speeding up doesn’t help deliver the message any faster. I won’t delve into the information theoretic aspects here (if you’re interested, watch the video), but it suggests there’s a maximum bandwidth in spoken channels once we consider intelligibility and comprehension.
Ease of Listening
There is plenty of reliable research on ease of listening related to speaking slowly. What this means is that your audience have more time to process and think about your message while you’re speaking, helping them to internalise the information. The less effort it takes, the less attention is needed and so the easier it is to keep their focus on you rather than burning it out.
After all, the key to an effective message delivery isn’t simply shouting it out - it’s making sure that people are listening and comprehend. The real measure is in how many conversations your presentation starts, not how much people nod during it (entirely possible they may be nodding off).
It Makes You More Attractive
This might seem a somewhat extreme claim, but is backed up by research published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour, along with other sources. It may be dependent more on a dating context than on-stage, but any tool you can use is worth using.
The average conversation speed is around 150 words per minute, up to a maximum of 195 and running as low as 110 words per minute. Even if you’re not intending to try it on stage, practicing varying your speaking pace and gaining awareness of it is an effective way to gain better control of your voice and your message.
If you’re looking to improve delivering your message, whether you’re looking to change the world or simply start more business conversations, book a session so I can help you reach the potential of your speaking slots.