Unfog · Guide

How to stop saying "um" in interviews

Filler words are the most measurable thing about how you speak, and the fastest to change. Most people can halve their rate in about two hours of practice.

What counts as normal

"Um" and "uh" are only part of it. The ones people miss in themselves are like, you know, sort of, basically, actually and just — hedges that quietly undercut a strong answer.

Why they happen

A filler is a placeholder your mouth produces while your brain is still assembling the sentence. It is not a vocabulary problem or a confidence problem. It is a timing problem: you started the sentence before you knew how it ended.

The drill that works

1. Record yourself answering one real question out loud. Not in your head — out loud. The gap between the two is the whole issue.
2. Count your fillers. Most people guess low by a factor of two or three. You need the real number, because you cannot feel this from the inside.
3. Replace the filler with a closed mouth. Not with a faster start — with silence. A one-second pause reads as considered; "um" reads as unprepared. They occupy the same slot.
4. Re-record the same answer. Same question, same day. The rate typically drops sharply the first time you can see it.

The uncomfortable part is step 2. Silence feels much longer to the speaker than to the listener — a pause you experience as an eternity is about a second to the person across the table, and it reads as composure.

What not to do

Do not try to speak faster to outrun the gap. Rushing raises your rate above 165 words per minute, which reads as nervousness, and the fillers usually come back anyway.