Caleb’s Ummm Blogpost #1

Do you Ummm a lot? If you have happened to listen to any episode of SIPPI, you have heard me say this onomatopoeia[1] numerous times. Too many times in fact. If you have found yourself being annoyed by it, you are not alone. I absolutely HATE that I do this. It is one of the many things I do that I am really insecure about. As the listener, you only know half of it. Our producer Andrew must go through and cut out all the ummm’s. Well, not all theummm’s. But Andrew does a great job of cutting out most of them. I believe the last recording poor Andrew had to delete out about 5 minutes’ worth of ummm’s. So, ummm, I am sorry Andrew. I promise I will try to get better. With that said, I have set out to find a way to correct this bad habit of mine.

So, I started asking myself questions; Surely I am not alone? Aren’t there other people that have a problem of ummming as much as I ummm? But where do I start? Like any red-blooded American scholar, I sought answers by going to Google. I was surprised to find there was some pretty good scholarly literature answering why people do this, as well as how people like me can break this habit.[2] But I don’t have the time to read a whole book on the subject. So, I found this article by Scott Burkin. His blog gave me four reasons why people like me do this.

• It’s a habit in normal speech.  People don’t just do it on stage, they do it in real conversations all the time. We just don’t notice it as much.  In one study 40% of all verbal mistakes are ummm’s, or filler noises, of some kind (From Errard’s book, below).
• It’s a way to hold the floor.  By making noise you indicate you’re not done and prevent other people from interrupting you. This is not necessary of course when on stage, unless it’s a really tough crowd.
• It’s a nervous habit. Some people do it more when they are nervous. Generally, the worst way to express nerves is through your mouth if you’re giving a presentation.
• We are afraid of silence. There is the feeling among many people when they speak that if they are silent people will boo them off the stage. So, they feel obligated never to stop making some kind of sound.[3]

While I do not know which category my ummm’s fall into. At any given time, my ummm’s could probably fall into any one of these four categories. But it was refreshing to discover that I am not alone. While this bad habit can be annoying and distracting, according to Burkin, it’s a bad habit that has an easy fix. Since I like testing things, we are going to check the boxes and see if Scott is right. We will see if I can demonstrate Burkin’s method and if it will help cure me of my bad habit at our next recording.

• Admit you have a problem: This is a box I can check because this article is my admission of having a problem.
• Practice with intent: I am practicing; however, I am going to put this into practice at our next recording when we have our first interviewed guest… Wish me luck!!!
• Enjoy the silence: I am checking this box because I like the “awkward silence” when I teach my Bible classes… (Interestingly enough, I rarely if ever “ummm” when I am teaching.) I am assuming this means when I teach I am coming from a place of confidence. However, this podcast puts me in a vulnerable place because the topic is about entrepreneurship— and I have already admitted I have no clue what I am doing in this realm. Let’s see if I can enjoy the silence at our next recording.
• Feel the pain: This is the one that is going to be interesting. I am going to have to get Chris involved in this section. What Burkin suggests is for someone to “ring a bell or a gong” every time the speaker ummm’s. So, what you say Chris… you ready to put our new fancy audio equipment to work?[4]

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[1] Onomatopoeia indicates a word that sounds like what it refers to or describes.  Onomatopoeia – Examples and Definition of Onomatopoeia (literarydevices.net)

[2] Michael Erard, Um. . .: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean: Erard, Michael: 9781400095438: Amazon.com: Books

[3] Scott Berkun, Why you say “ummmm” when you speak and how to fix it | Scott Berkun

[4] Ibid.