How Avoiding Filler-Words When Talking Made Me Extremely Calm, Present And Peaceful (And How You Can Too)

Yesterday night, my way of talking changed forever.

I had invited friends to stay over in my apartment in person, travelling from Sweden to Poland. First physical meetup since ages ago. During the evening, my best friend said the following to me:

“You should avoid filler-words when you talk and take longer pauses”

Saying things such as “like”, “uhm”, “I mean”, “I think that…”, “one could say that…”, “it’s something that…”, “so to speak” dilutes the message, something I have done for a very long time. However, by taking pauses, you allow for reflection, understanding, and greater emphasis on the words you do say. Plus a calmer thought pattern since you are not nervous enough to “fill the air” with something.

I began to notice, avoid the filler words, and see the immediate difference:

I became more deliberate with what I truly wanted to say. Moreover, the pauses had a way of filling the air with grace harmony previously not thought of. I became more relaxed since my body did not attempt to conjure phrases all the time.