Verbal pauses

Verbal pauses are words like "um", "uh", and "like" that are instinctively used as space-fillers without actually adding any meaning. Excessive use of verbal pauses is generally considered poor speaking. Sometimes entire phrases like "so we can see that" can be considered verbal pauses, if a speaker overuses them in an automatic way that adds little meaning to their speech.

Eliminating verbal pauses
Verbal pauses can be extremely difficult to eliminate. They are essentially automatic, so consciously attempting to suppress them is rarely successful.

The most common technique for breaking the habit is interruption. The speaker practices in front of an audience, who are instructed to do something startling every time they hear the speaker use a verbal pause. Common actions include banging on a table suddenly, calling out a specific phrase, firing rubber bands or Nerf darts at the speaker, etc. Many speakers report significant improvement after only two or three speeches.

As a particularly quirky example of the interruption method, members of the Austin Rhetoric Club have been known to respond to the word "um" by shouting out "STATTD!" - thus forming the last name of one of ARC's founding coaches, Umstattd.