How to stop saying "um" and "uh" in presentations

Everyone uses filler words. In normal conversation they are not a problem – they signal "I'm still talking". In a presentation they become noticeable when they appear in almost every sentence, because they make you sound less sure than you are. The goal isn't zero fillers. The goal is to replace most of them with short, calm pauses.

How many filler words are too many?

As a rough guide: below 1–2 % of your words, nobody notices. Around 5 %, the audience starts to hear them. Above that, they distract from what you say. In a 10-minute talk at about 140 words per minute, 5 % is around 70 "ums".

Why we say "um"

Fillers appear when your mouth is faster than your next thought – mostly at the start of a sentence, at slide changes and when you search for a word. Nerves make it worse because you speak faster. That's good news: if you know what comes next, most fillers disappear on their own.

Six exercises that work

1. Measure first. Record a rehearsal and count. Most people are surprised by which filler they use most – often it's "so" or "like", not "um".
2. Know the first sentence of every slide. Slide transitions are the number one place for fillers. Practise only the transitions: the last sentence of one slide and the first of the next.
3. Pause on purpose. Replace the filler with silence. A one-second pause feels long to you and normal to the audience – it even sounds confident.
4. Slow down. Aim for 130–150 words per minute. When you speak slower, your brain has time to plan the next sentence without a filler.
5. Finish sentences with a full stop. Fillers often bridge one sentence into the next ("…and, um, so…"). End the sentence, breathe, start a new one.
6. Practise in short blocks. Fix one slide at a time instead of running the whole talk ten times.

Get honest numbers

It's hard to notice your own fillers while you speak. SlideTimer can record your rehearsal and its AI feedback counts every filler word, measures your words per minute and points out the slides where you ran over – analysed on our own server in Switzerland. The first analyses are free.

Don't over-correct

Trying to never say "um" can make you stiff, and a robotic talk is worse than a natural one with a few fillers. Concentrate on the transitions and the first sentence of each slide, and let the rest be human.