How do you decide which um's and er's to keep and which to cut? You probably grew up hearing that too many "um"s and "like"s when you speak means you aren't educated or eloquent enough. The truth is, these filler words have an important job to do in our speech and conversation: they contribute to emotional impact and authenticity, and generally don't detract from authority at all. Despite the research supporting this, the past decade or so has seen a push by some podcasters and platforms to eradicate filler words from published episodes. Today, there are even one-click AI-driven options that claim to cleanly pull selected "er"s and "uh"s from your recordings. Spoiler alert: they aren't very good at it. All this serves to reinforce the narrative that filler words are "bad," but Mary pushes back on that erroneous assumption. In this episode, she discusses the disconnect between speaker and listener that comes from over-editing. Striking a balance between a stilted monologue that distracts your audience and authentic human connection isn't always easy, but it's always worth the effort. Fight for the right to keep your conversations natural: Why identifying your ideal listener is key to filler word frequency; The reason letting AI edit out your filler words is bound to fail (aka: the context cue imperative); How eavesdropping at your local coffee shop can improve your editing; What the filler word controversy can reveal to you about your own speech patterns. Links worth mentioning from the episode: Episode 18, Why Filler Words Like "Like" Are Powerful with Alexandra D'Arcy: https://www.organizedsound.ca/why-filler-words-like-like-are-powerful-with-alexandra-darcy-episode-18/ Connect with Mary! Leave a voice note with your feedback at https://www.speakpipe.com/VisibleVoice or email [email protected] Get the full transcript of the episode at http://www.visiblevoicepodcast.com Read up on more secrets with the Visible Voice Insights Newsletter https://www.organizedsound.ca/newsletter To learn more or work with Mary, check out https://www.organizedsound.ca Link up on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marychan-organizedsound/ Engage on Instagram @OrganizedSoundProductions https://www.instagram.com/organizedsoundproductions Show Credits: Podcast audio design, engineering, and editing by Mary Chan of Organized Sound Productions Show notes written by Shannon Kirk of Right Words Studio Post-production support by Kristalee Forre of Forre You VA Podcast cover art by Emily Johnston of Artio Design Co.