A list of filler words (and what to do about them)

These carry no meaning at all. They are the sound of a speaker holding the floor while deciding what comes next.

um, uh, er, erm, ah, eh, hmm, mm, mhm, huh

This group is the safest to remove. Cutting an um almost never changes the meaning of a sentence, and listeners do not miss them. They are also the easiest for editing software to find, because they are acoustically distinct from surrounding words.

These are ordinary words doing no work in the sentence. They are harder to spot because they look meaningful on the page.

like, so, well, right, okay, anyway, yeah, now, look, listen, actually, basically, literally, honestly, obviously, essentially, seriously, totally, really, just

Context decides whether these are filler. In “she literally ran a marathon” the word is doing a job. In “it was literally, like, really good” it is not. Removing every instance produces stilted speech, so treat this group as a review list rather than a delete list.

Longer constructions that occupy time without adding information. These cost the most listening time and are often the easiest wins in an edit.

you know, I mean, sort of, kind of, or something, and stuff, at the end of the day, to be honest, if that makes sense, does that make sense, the thing is, what I’m trying to say is, I guess, I suppose, needless to say, for what it’s worth

A speaker who ends several sentences with “if that makes sense” is usually signalling uncertainty rather than checking comprehension. Removing the phrase often makes them sound more authoritative without changing a word of their argument.

Hedges are not strictly filler, because they do change meaning. They belong on this list because speakers use them reflexively, and stacked hedges weaken a sentence that would otherwise land.

maybe, perhaps, possibly, probably, somewhat, a bit, a little, fairly, quite, pretty much, more or less, I think, I feel like, it seems like, in my opinion, arguably

Be careful here. A hedge that reflects genuine uncertainty is honest and should stay. The ones worth cutting are the doubled and tripled ones: “I think it’s maybe probably a bit better” says nothing that “I think it’s better” does not.

Filler words are a normal feature of spontaneous speech in every language. Research on disfluency has repeatedly found that hesitation markers help listeners: they signal that something complicated or new is coming, and they give the listener a moment to catch up.

Audio that has had every hesitation surgically removed tends to sound relentless. There is no breath in it, the pace never varies, and listeners find it tiring over a long episode even when they cannot say why.

The practical target is not zero. It is removing enough that nothing distracts, while leaving enough that the speaker still sounds like a person thinking in real time.

Replace the filler with a pause. Fillers exist to occupy the gap while you think; silence does the same job and sounds considered rather than uncertain. This is a single habit and it removes most of the problem.

Slow down slightly. Most filler comes from speaking faster than you are composing. Dropping the pace a little gives the sentence time to form before you have to start it.

Know your first sentence. Openings produce more filler than any other moment because nothing has established the rhythm yet. Having the first line ready removes the worst cluster of the recording.

For what survives the take, automatic filler word removal will find the hesitation sounds across a whole episode far faster than scrubbing a waveform by hand.