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[pnjtony]

I'm trying to make a video tutorial of general PC usage and the internet for a few people and when I'm recording I can't stop myself from saying Uhhh, or Umm nearly after every sentence. Is there anyway to break this habit without writing out a script?

 

[iapetus]

Be Russian.

 

[MrAngryFace]

Its a nervous twitch, I dont say ummm ahhh when I talk to people im comfortable around.

 

[iapetus]

It is possible to stop doing it, but the first step is to be conscious of when you're doing it. Then you just have to get into the habit of deliberately pausing rather than umming or ahhing. Get someone to point out when you're doing it - that should help, even if it maddens you to the point that you have to beat them to death.

I had to go through the process when I was learning Russian, and it's not actually that hard. Just a case of breaking the habit.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

If that person has the ability to shock you, perhaps with some sort of car battery, the process will go much faster.

 

[Mihail]

Don't be afraid of speaking in sentences. Many people feel that if they end a sentence and pause for the period, it's awkward, so tend to include uhms and such in order to feel like they're continually speaking.

Pausing is not a bad thing. Get comfortable with pausing after a complete sentence has been spoken. And if the sentence isn't finished, use appropriate connectors like "however," "but," "on the other hand," "accordingly," etc. instead of uhms.

 

[Mama Smurf]

My old English teacher would have put a piece of chalk through your neck by now.

 

[Bigfoot]

I took a speaking course once, and if you ever said ahh or umm, the teacher had a bell that she would ring, and they recorded the number of ahhs and umms you said each class. I learned pretty quickly not say umm or ahh, but unfortunately that good habit didn't last too long.

 

[bionic77]

I took a speaking course once, and if you ever said ahh or umm, the teacher had a bell that she would ring, and they recorded the number of ahhs and umms you said each class. I learned pretty quickly not say umm or ahh, but unfortunately that good habit didn't last too long.

My high school history teacher would charge us 10 cents every time we said umm or ahh, for "polluting the English language". He was a crazy old man, but that was pretty effective and he sent the money to help out Native Americans.