Meet Amanda
April 1, 2026
You don’t need me to say it – you’ve heard it before. Heck, you’ve probably said it to someone else before.
“Filler words make you sound like you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Technically, it’s true. Filler words take away your credibility in an instant.
Does a patient want to hear a doctor say, “Umm” every time they answer a question?
Does an employer want to hear an applicant say “Yeah, so” every other sentence?
Does an airplane passenger want to hear the pilot say, “Yeah, so, like, we’re flying at an altitude of, ummm…you know.”
Probably not.
But, as many times as you’ve told yourself you’re not going to use filler words in your presentations, they still somehow sneak in there.

There’s a reason simply swearing something off and moving on doesn’t work.
Stating an intention out loud and moving on doesn’t change anything. If it did, everyone would fulfill their new years resolutions – every year!
And, declaring bankruptcy would be a very literal process.

In order to rid your vocabulary and your presentations of words that make you sound less sure of yourself, you need to go deeper.
Sometimes we get very lucky and develop new habits by simply being aware of our old ones. But, as anyone who’s spent any time in therapy will know, awareness doesn’t always immediately lead to change. Sometimes, you need a little extra help.
Otherwise, you’ll tell yourself, “This time I won’t say ‘like’ in my talk!” And, when an accidental ‘like’ slips out, you’ll get in your head and spend the rest of the presentation berating yourself in your head, instead of focusing on your audience.
You deserve for your audience to be intrigued and impressed, whether they’re total strangers or colleagues you’ve known for years.
So, don’t waste your presentation berating yourself!
Learn how to dig a little deeper, turn your awareness into intention, and intention into action. The time you invest in boosting your credibility will be well worth it.
Time to stop hoping that wishing them away will get your filler words out of your talks for good. Click here and show your audience why you’re the expert they’ve been waiting for.

CEO of Boston Public Speaking and San Diego Public Speaking
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