The art of conversation

​When I first started listening to recordings that I had made of videos and webinars, I noticed that I was using ‘um’ a lot. This was to provide a pause while I collected my thoughts, and also to allow listeners time to reflect on what I had said before moving on to the next point. Realising that listeners can stop and replay recordings, the word ‘um’ is not necessary to use in these types of presentations. We can use other cues for listeners to focus on the important points we want to make. 

Using ‘um’ in a video is quite different to how it is used in face-to-face conversation. ​

​I was brought up with the belief that using the word ‘um’ was a sign of poor speaking skills and should be avoided during conversation. Perhaps this is wrong. Maybe ‘um’ has an important use in normal conversation.

​What does the research say?

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