Fillers

Fillers are found in many places. They are not essential ingredients yet either are placed or found everywhere. In food they are used to bulk up a product to make it look larger or feel heavier than actual to help sell the product. In school papers they are meant to fool the teacher into thinking the student knows more than they do. In businesses or homes they are meant to add bulk to a room and impress with size.

Toastmasters know these well and try to avoid them. There is a specific meeting role - Ah Counter - that is tasked with calling them out to help speakers avoid them in the future. Many of them are words that have a proper place in our vocabulary , but not to be used as a substitute for a purposeful pause between thoughts. One of my "favorites" is "so". It is a perfectly good work, but you should not use it to start a sentence. Other usual ones are ah, um, like, and you know. Other faulted verbals are overuse of "and" to connect thoughts and double words - repeating the same word twice in a row. These are indications of lack of focus or losing a train of thought. The best way to avoid these is to simply pause, but many people are uncomfortable with silence, however brief.

I have recently realized that there is another type of filler that isn't easily detectable. It is wordiness , using several words when a single word or two will suffice. Sometimes it is from lack of confidence - we almost beg for someone to help or give permission. Sometimes we feel we need to make our case before asking. Sometimes we just like to talk and can't get to the point fast.

I have three ways to combat this One is called BLUF  bottom line up front. I learned this from a prior work manager. He introduced this term to help us with our email communication. He said state what you really want first, then explain why. I started practicing that and it has really improved both my communication and my confidence. I have had a struggle with feeling I had to explain the situation first and then ask for help, often timidly.

Simply be direct in your communication. Less is more and straight forward beats hemming and hawing. No one is persuaded by long lists and detailed descriptions of problems, Once you get someone on board to help you can flesh out with details - often in response to their followup questions.

And , thirdly, don't give people an easy way to say 'no'. Don't be presumptuous and act like they have already said yes, but don't automatically assume they will say 'no' either. Ask in such a way that leads them to say yes. Instead of saying "can you do this? or "may I do this?" , say 'please help me with this". They may still say "no" or "i can't" , but at least they have to work at it. If you say "can I have next Tuesday off?" they have an easy 'yes or no' response opportunity. If you say "I need to take next Tuesday off", they have to think about it , and the possibility of  approval goes up.

Fight fillers and fluff - needless words that just take up space and don't add to your message. It will strengthen both your everyday communication and your speeches to enrich the world.