How many ‘oohm’ and ‘aahh’ do you say when you do your presentation? Are you even aware that you saying those words. Or are you the ones who say ‘you know’ or ‘alright’ as your filler words? Kalau tak tahu, record a video of yourself and tengok balik.
Filler words are the words we use almost subconsciously to fill in the gaps in our speeches. The best way to avoid it is by preparing your presentation in advance and then practising your presentation until you are very comfortable with your presentation. Another way is to learn how to use pauses instead of the filler words.
A few filler words here and there is fine. It’s when the use of filler words is so frequent that it becomes really distracting and can make the audience lose focus with the presentation. Tak berapa best la.
We know from research in the US that only 7% of meaning is communicated through the words we use in spoken communications. Another 38% is through the tone and voice, and the remaining 55% is through the body language we use.
Therefore memang very important that we get the use of filler words under control because almost 40% of effective communication is dependant on your tone and your voice!
