1. Pauses, Fillers and other hesitations.
Aspects of speech

2. Today we will:
Identify the meanings of the terms “Pauses and Fillers” in relation to conversation.
Discuss when and where they might be used.
Describe the effects they have on conversation.

3. Pauses and Fillers are words that are spoken as a signal that the speaker has paused to think, but is not yet finished speaking.
During speech there will be times when the speaker pauses and thinks for a second or two. This is when, subconsciously, the speaker will use these pauses and fillers.

4. Pause- a gap or silence in a conversation
To create effect,
To allow the message to be taken in by the listener,
To give the speaker time to think,
To indicate a change in the topic being discussed,
Could even be as simple as an intake of breath.

5. Filler- a word, or set of words, used to fill a gap in the conversation
To show the speaker the person is listening
To give the speaker time to think
To show the listener that the speaker has not finished speaking
To show that the listener is understanding or agreeing with what is being said

6. Sounds: ‘Ah’, ‘Umm’, ‘Err’, ‘Uhh’, ‘Uh huh’, ‘Mmm’.
Here are some examples of Fillers
Sounds: ‘Ah’, ‘Umm’, ‘Err’, ‘Uhh’, ‘Uh huh’, ‘Mmm’.
Words : ‘you know’, ‘I think’, ‘I mean’, ‘I guess’, ‘you see’, ‘ I know’, ‘I see’, ‘like’, ‘okay’, ‘right’.
In pairs, take turns to talk to each other for 1 MINUTE on what you did last night.
The listener should note how many times the speaker pauses or uses a filler.

7. Even celebrities can be seen to use these conversational aspects.
Colin Firth- Golden Globe speech.
Count the ‘Ah’s’
Barrack Obama speech.
Count the ‘Uh’s’

8. What are the effects of fillers and pauses?
Positive effects:
Great speakers know that Pause is the powerful tool in speech.
It can aid in gaining and maintaining attention of the listener, emphasising important points in the conversation , and gives the listener time to digest what has been said.
An excellent example of this is Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

9. Read this speech without pauses.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character .I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.”

10. Now read this speech with the pauses included.
I have a dream ……...that my four little children….. will one day live in a nation…. where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin,…….. but by the content of their character…………I have a dream… that one day…. on the red hills of Georgia….. the sons of former slaves….. and the sons of former slave owners…. will be able to sit down together……… at a table of brotherhood.”
What difference did the pauses make to the piece?

11. Although we use fillers in all conversations, they can be used most positively when we cannot physically see the listener.
The best example being when we speak on the telephone.
Using fillers show that the listener is being attentive, following the conversation, understanding what has been said and ,most importantly with the use of mobile phones, is still on the other end of the phone!
How many times, when speaking on the phone, have you said:
“Are you still there?”.
This is because the listener is not using enough fillers and so their end of the phone is silent and we think they have been cut off!

12. X Negative effects:
If we pause for too long it could be taken that we have finished speaking. This can lead to interruptions as other people begin to speak before we have finished.
If we use too many fillers during a speech, it could give the impression that the speaker lacks confidence, is poorly prepared, has little knowledge about what they are talking about and is untrustworthy and unconvincing.
Similarly, if we use fillers at the wrong time in a conversation, the speaker could feel that we are not listening, are not interested in the conversation and are actually quite rude!

13. Today we have:
Talked about pauses and fillers and what these words mean when we look at their use in a conversation.
Talked about when and where we might use them in everyday life and given examples.
Described how the use of these aspects can change a conversation or speech, for better or worse for both the speaker and the listener.