Episode #119 Um, Um, Um, Er, I, Um, Ah, Um

Why Do So Many Business Professionals Still Struggle With Filler Words?

In both 日本企業 (Japanese corporations / 日本企業) and 外資系企業 (multinational firms / 外資系企業), executives frequently battle filler words like “um,” “ah,” “you know,” and “so…”. These verbal habits weaken credibility, distract listeners, and reduce trust—especially in high-stakes environments such as leadership briefings, sales pitches, and investor presentations in Tokyo.

Filler words often appear when the speaker is thinking on their feet, unsure of their message flow, or over-dependent on slide decks instead of mastering delivery. When this happens, the message loses clarity, and the speaker’s personal brand suffers.

Mini-Summary:
Filler words are not a language issue—they are a delivery issue that directly affects executive presence and leadership credibility.

Executives in Japan face intense expectations for clarity, confidence, and professionalism. When a presenter repeatedly uses filler words, the audience’s cognitive load increases. They stop listening to the message and start focusing on the speaker’s hesitation.

This weakens:

• Persuasive impact

• Leadership presence

• Audience trust

• Personal and corporate brand (“I Am the Brand”)

Even polished professionals—well dressed and well prepared—lose authority the moment they start reading notes or hesitating through ums and ahs.

Mini-Summary:
Every filler word erodes credibility; eliminating them directly strengthens your brand as a persuasive leader.

Even when content is pre-written, speakers often hesitate because they rely on PowerPoint or notes instead of practicing delivery. For 99.9% of presenters in Tokyo, preparation means editing slides—not rehearsing verbal communication.

This leads to:

• Over-reliance on data instead of message

• Flat delivery with weak vocal modulation

• Limited eye contact

• Reduced executive presence

Professor Albert Mehrabian's research shows that when delivery and content clash, the audience absorbs only 7% of the message—the rest is lost to distracting delivery.

Mini-Summary:
Slides help structure ideas, but delivery determines impact. Without practice, filler words become inevitable.

Dr. Greg Story’s technique—taught at Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo—offers a guaranteed method to eliminate filler words:

The Sentence-Start Method

1. Choose the first word of your sentence.

2. Hit that word decisively.

3. Speak the sentence clearly with full intention.

4. At the end, close your lips firmly — no sound escapes.

5. Pause silently while thinking of the next sentence.

This breaks the psychological urge to fill silence with noise. Silence becomes a strategic tool, not an awkward gap.

With hours of practice, this becomes a positive habit that nearly eliminates hesitation entirely.

Mini-Summary:
Train yourself to begin sentences with clarity and end them with silence—this removes the need for filler words.

How Can Executives in Japan Use This Method to Improve Leadership Communication?

Leaders in 日本企業 and 外資系企業 can immediately apply this approach during:

• Leadership briefings (リーダーシップ研修 / leadership training)

• Sales pitches (営業研修 / sales training)

• High-stakes presentations (プレゼンテーション研修 / presentation training)

• Executive coaching sessions (エグゼクティブ・コーチング / executive coaching)

Practicing the sentence-start technique builds:

• Stronger presence

• More persuasive delivery

• Higher clarity

• Greater audience confidence

Mini-Summary:
Consistent practice transforms hesitant speakers into confident, authoritative leaders trusted by both Japanese and global audiences.

• Filler words weaken leadership presence and distract audiences.

• Over-reliance on slides is the root cause of weak delivery.

• Eliminating ums and ahs builds executive credibility instantly.

• Dr. Greg Story’s sentence-start technique is a proven, repeatable system to remove filler words.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.