Filler Words: What They Are & How to Avoid Them

Ever notice how we say ‘um,’ and ‘like’ so much in our speech?

Maybe you’ve caught yourself typing ‘just,”very,’ or ‘basically’ in e-mails and messages a lot without even paying it much mind.

These are all filler words—words that, on the surface, may not seem harmful, but like leeches suck the blood out of your communication. 

In speech, filler words allow us time to think.

However, in writing, they are irrelevant for the most part. So why use so many of them?

In this article, we’ll answer questions like, “What are fillers?” We will also look into situations where they might be useful and how to cut them out of your speech and writing for clearer, more confident communication.

Let’s get into it!

What Are Filler Words?

Filler words or discourse markers are words, phrases, or sounds that do not bear much impact on a sentence but still emerge by default.

Verbal pauses in speech act as the break we give ourselves to collect our thoughts. In writing, they eat up space without any real addition.

Some of the most common filler words are:

• Um, uh, er, ah (verbal pauses)
• Um, you know, like, I mean, basically (casual fillers)
• Just, really, very, literally (weak modifiers)

Though, individually, these words tend not to matter much, overdoing them can give an impression of hesitancy in speech or an unrefined outlook to your writing.

Are Filler Words Always Bad?

Not always! While frequent use may give the impression of unrefined communication, they do have some utility value.

• Avoiding Awkward Silence: Verbal fillers allow a momentary pause for you to contemplate what to say next, thereby preventing uncomfortable silence. 
• Rendering Speech More Human: The light use of verbal fillers in everyday conversation can give a very human touch to speech. 
• Hedging: Words like I guess and kind of can also offer some hedge when you don’t want to come off so absolute or harsh. 

That being said, leaning on them too heavily dumbs down your message. It’s not about excluding them entirely but using them consciously instead of automatically.

Why People Use Filler Words in Speech & Writing

At the end of the day, we subconsciously use some filler words to help articulation in everyday conversation and even writing for numerous reasons:

• Pausing for Thought: When people talk, they often use crutch words to pause and think about what to say next. 
• Anxiety or Unreadiness: Filler words flow from a public speaker or an interviewee when they feel nervous or ill-prepared. They are used in everyday informal speech. Examples include “like” or “you know.” 
• Softening Words: On paper, fillers can reduce the impact of tough or harsh communication. For example, “I wanted to ask about…” as opposed to “I just wanted to touch base with you as regards…”

Common Filler Words & Phrases (With Examples)

Below are just some of the most common filler words and phrases that are often used, with examples of them in speech and writing.

Filler Words in Speech

During verbal communication, filler words tend to act as verbal crutches that show reflections of thoughts or signal continuation of speech.

Here are some examples of the most frequently used filler words in speech.

• Um, Uh, Er, Ah: “I was, um, thinking we could go ahead with the project.”
• Like: “She was like, totally excited about the event.”
• You know: “I was working on the report, you know, just making sure everything looked good.”
• I mean: “I mean, we could try a different approach if needed.”
• Sort of, Kind of: “This design is sort of what I was imagining.”
• Okay, so, well: “So, I think we should start with the budget discussion.”

Using these moderately can help your listeners receive your message better.

Filler Words in Writing

In a conversation, filler words may not be easy to notice because they are frequently employed informally.

In writing, they stand out like a sore thumb and make the content seem weak and directionless.

Below are common filler words in writing and alternatives:

• Just: “I just wanted to check in.” → “I wanted to check in.”
• Really: “This is really important.” → “This is important.”
• Very: “She is very excited about the proposal.” → “She is thrilled about the proposal.”
• Basically: “Basically, we need to update our strategy.” → “We need to update our strategy.”
• Needless to say: “Needless to say, the project was a success.” → “The project was a success.”
• At the end of the day: “At the end of the day, results matter most.” → “Results matter most.”

By removing these filler words, readability is better. 

Why You Should Avoid Filler Words

Though filler words may appear to be appropriate, if one overuses them, they can alter the message in these ways:

1. They Weaken Your Message: Wordy sentences often lessen the punch of what you’re trying to say, so your reader might miss the point. They make you sound less confident – Verbal fillers have a way of portraying insecurity or lack of confidence. 
2. They Can Distract Your Audience: More attention may be paid by the readers and listeners to the redundancy than to the content itself. They reduce clarity in writing – Filler words should be avoided for firm and engaging writing.

You can enhance verbal and written communication by unlearning filler words and taking measures to curb them.

This will make your expressions crisp, clear, and impactful.

How to Stop Using Filler Words

Filler words are habitually used by a great majority of humans in verbal and written communication and, as such, cannot be easily reversed.

However, you can take a step towards healthy usage with awareness and regular practice.

Follow these steps.

1. Become Aware of Your Filler Words

Becoming aware of how much you use fillers is the key to eradicating them.

Record yourself having a conversation or presenting, listen back, and notice the redundant words that you use.

Being aware helps you take necessary measures towards eradicating fillers from your conversations.

2. Practice Pausing Instead of Using Fillers

Most of us use fill words as a substitute for silence in conversation.

Break away from that habit by practicing silence before you speak.

This gives you enough time to think before presenting. 

3. Speak Slower and More Deliberately

Speaking at a quick rate tends to lead you to use filler words.

Slow down so that you can think beforehand and choose words carefully.

Speaking at a regular, deliberate rate makes you sound more poised and authoritative.

4. Prepare and Practice Before Speaking

When giving a critical address or a presentation, rehearsing beforehand can help you eliminate fillers.

The more familiar you are with the material you have pre-prepared, the less likely you will be to employ fillers.

A quick tip is to jot down words or sentences when preparing that cue into points you want to make during your speech.

5. Use Chunking to Structure Your Speech

Chunking is about dividing your words into small, cohesive units instead of long, meandering sentences. Chunking makes you fluent and improves your message.

When chunking, fill gaps with moments of silence instead of filler words.

6. Ask for Feedback

Whenever in doubt, you can always ask for feedback. Ask an unbiased person to listen and provide some input as you communicate.

This person can suggest areas for improvement and alternative means of communicating your thoughts.

By incorporating these measures, you will greatly minimize your usage of filler words in conversation.

Powerful Words to Replace Common Fillers

Instead of relying on ineffective filler words, choose stronger, more powerful alternatives.

Some of these ineffective filler words and stronger alternatives for replacing them are as follows:

Filler Word	Stronger Alternative
Just	Simply, Only
Really	Truly, Extremely
Very	Highly, Exceptionally
Like	Such as, Specifically
Basically	Essentially, Fundamentally
Actually	In fact, Indeed
You know	For example, to clarify
I think	I believe, I’m confident that

For example:
Wrong: “I just wanted to check in and see if you had any updates.”
Correct: “I wanted to check in to see if you had any updates.”

Wrong: “This is really important for our team.”
Correct: “This is essential for our team.”

You can make your communication stronger and more engaging by replacing filler words with more concrete, substantial alternatives.

How AI Can Help You Eliminate Filler Words

With more effective and clearer communications in the world today, AI can aid in cutting out filler words and improving speech and writing.

Daily conversations, business communications, and public speaking activities that are all plagued with excessive filler words can be assessed by AI, and these words can be replaced with more effective, potent words.

AI Can Instantly Identify Filler Words in Written Work

One of the biggest challenges in cutting out filler words from writing is realizing that you are using them in the first place.

Some words like “just,” “really,” “basically,” and “literally,” creep into our writing unnoticed.

AI writing assistants can look through your text, highlight words that are not essential, and suggest more direct words in their stead, helping you create more effective and crisp content.

For example, instead of writing, “I just wanted to pop in briefly to ask whether you did in fact have any updates?” Our Undetectable Paraphrasing Tool can generate this: “I wanted to check if you have some updates.”.  This sentence is clearer and more professional when filler words are eliminated.

AI Speech Analysis Makes You a Confident Speaker

If you have a habit of using filler words in conversations, AI-based speech-analyzing software is available to assist you.

The software transcribes words as you speak and gives you instant feedback, pointing out excess filler words.

Practicing over a period with AI-based training can condition you into clearer and more confident speech.

Some AI software also gives you speech rate tips, which prompts you to slow down and frame your words more clearly.

AI Can Help Detect and Replace Filler Words for You

Our Undetectable AI chat can assist you in eliminating filler words in both verbal and written communications.

With its text analysis, it can identify words that are not essential and suggest more direct words. Here’s how it operates:

• Step 1: Paste your text into the AI Chat and click the send button.
• Step 2: Our Undetectable AI chat will signal filler words and suggest stronger options.
• Step 3: Review and integrate the suggestions for a polished, professional output.

AI-Powered Writing Assistants Provide Engaging and Concise Content

AI writing assistants don’t only eliminate filler words.

They make sentences easier to read, improving the flow and clarity of the piece.

They scan for sentence structure and give rephrasing options for improved engagement without cutting content.

For instance, AI can:

• Identify and eliminate repetition of phrases.
• Replace words with stronger, more assertive options.
• Make reading a piece easier for readers.

This is highly beneficial for writers and students who want their writing to be short and impactful.

Explore our AI Detector and Humanizer in the widget below!

AI Assists in Refining Communications Through Time

The greatest benefit of utilizing AI in reducing filler words is that it makes you a more effective communicator.

With repetition, as AI keeps flagging and reminding you of them, your mind automatically begins to understand how to avoid filler words.

Conclusion

Whether you are giving a speech or writing a blog, one of the quickest and best methods of making your writing and speech stronger is avoiding filler words.

While these words may seem harmless, too frequent usage can weaken your point, make your communication come off as less confident, and reduce its clarity.

Our AI tools can help identify filler words in your writing and improve your communication habits over time.