Speaker Training Tips - How to Elimiate Vocal Fillers

When giving a speech, you should sound fluid and professional. Sounding professional, takes practice and often. You may not realize just how many times you say "uh," or "um" throughout your speech. Known as vocal fillers, these short little utterances can actually detrimentally affect your credibility as a professional speaker. Read on for some great speaker training tips on how you can lessen or eliminate vocal fillers in your speech, on stage and off. No matter what type of speech you are making, people tend to judge, and often focus in on those little mistakes. In fact, people can judge your whole speech by the amount of little mistakes they think you made. This is why it is extremely important to substantially reduce, if not eliminate completely vocal fillers from your speech. A very powerful way to cut back on your "uh's" and "um's" is to simply pause for a moment. Instead of using a vocal filler like "uh" or "um" just pause, gather your thoughts, then continue. Pausing can actually have great impact on how your speech is received. Pausing allows for emotion to build, or for your point to sink in. In fact, you should pause often as pausing is a very powerful tool. Practice pausing in your speech, this will get you used to a purposeful silence instead of saying "um." With enough practice you can really reduce the amount of vocal fillers you use in your speech. Another great speaker training tip to help you eliminate vocal fillers is to practice in front of a camera. Practice filming yourself so you can actually see how often you make a mistake. Filming yourself is great, because you actually get to see yourself, and there is no pressure from an audience. Watch yourself, and practice to fix any mistakes you may make. Take it a step further, and practice in front of a small audience. You may want to select a few of your friends who aren't afraid to be honest, but will offer you valid critique. Working in front of a small audience as a test run will offer you great insights into any mistakes you may make. You will also get to practice in front of a real live audience, which will help you prepare for your actual speech on stage. Vocal fillers don't have to be a stumbling block in your speaking career. Although very easy and natural to say, vocal fillers can be eliminated with a little practice using these great speaker training techniques. As mentioned, a pause can be a very powerful tool at stirring up emotion. Practice pausing when you feel the urge to say "um" you will be amazed by the results. Remember to record yourself with a video or digital camera, so you can actually see exactly how you will appear and sound to your audience. Take it a step further, and practice in front of a small audience. This can be a small group of friends who will give their honest opinions. All in all, practice will help you to reduce your vocal fillers and in turn you will appear to be a much more professional speaker.