How to Stop Adding Interview Fillers ("Like, Umm...")

Interview fillers can sabotage your position as a competent professional; they undermine your words and make you sound less confident. During a job interview, fillers work against you, lessening the impact of everything you say. By making a conscious effort to cut "like" and "um" from your everyday speech patterns, you can reduce the chances that they will crop up during an interview.

One reason that people insert interview fillers into their speech is to buy time while they are thinking of the best answer to a question. The fillers give your brain time to catch up with your mouth. According to the Harvard Extension School, one way to combat this is to pause before speaking and think about your answer. By avoiding the natural tendency to start speaking immediately, you'll have time to formulate an answer, eliminating your need to say "like" or "um." Practice this process during your daily activities to overcome the initial discomfort. When the time comes for a job interview, you won't be taken off guard.

When you are unprepared to answer a specific question, you may be more likely to insert interview fillers as you search your brain for the best answer. To avoid this situation, do everything you can to prepare before an interview. Start researching the company as soon as the interview is scheduled. Think back through your work history and talk it over with friends or family. Identify anecdotes and situations that illustrate how you can be an asset to the new company and practice talking about them out loud; in doing so, you'll work them into your memory. If necessary, write stories down to reinforce them. The more you prepare, the less you'll need to search for filler words during an interview.

Part of the battle in eliminating interview fillers is awareness. To get your brain in on the process, film or record audio of yourself speaking, either in a mock interview or a meeting. Note the fillers that are the biggest problem for you and count the number of times they occur. Throughout the day, pay attention to when you say these words. If necessary, get your friends, family and colleagues in on the action by asking them to remind you each time you say one of the problem words. If you need extra reinforcement, use the old method of snapping a rubber band on your wrist each time you notice yourself saying filler words. Often, increased awareness is enough to eliminate a significant percentage of interview fillers from your vocabulary.

Interview fillers, like other language tics, are a bad habit, and, like other habits, it can take time and concerted effort to break. With diligence and patience, you can eliminate filler words and improve the way you appear to potential employers during the interview process.

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