# Filler words

Filler words are unconscious placeholders like "um," "uh," "like," and "you know," used to fill a pause while a speaker is still forming a thought. A few are normal in any spoken conversation, but a high rate of them across an interview can read as unprepared, even when the underlying answer is solid.

Most people underestimate how often they use them until they hear a recording.

**Filler words** — Filler words carry no real content; they're a verbal placeholder while the speaker is still deciding what to say next. Common ones include "um," "uh," "like," "you know," "basically," and "so" used as a sentence opener. Occasional use is normal and expected in natural speech. The problem is frequency, not existence.

A short pause to think is usually better than filling that silence, since a brief gap reads as composed while a stream of "um"s reads as scrambling. Most people don't notice their own rate until they listen to a recording of themselves, which is why practicing out loud, not just rehearsing an answer silently in their head, tends to expose the problem faster than any other method. Slowing down slightly also cuts filler words naturally, since much of the habit comes from trying to talk faster than a thought is actually forming.

Intervieux measures the filler-word ratio in every spoken answer directly. An answer where filler words make up more than 10% of the words spoken triggers a scoring penalty, giving a candidate a concrete number instead of a vague sense that they "talk too much like that."

## Frequently asked questions

### Are a few filler words in an interview a problem?

No, occasional filler words are normal in natural speech and interviewers expect some. The issue is a high, sustained rate across an answer, not the occasional "um."

### How can someone reduce their filler-word rate?

Practicing answers out loud rather than silently, and slowing down slightly, both help. A short silent pause while thinking is a better substitute than a filler word.

### What counts as a filler word?

Common ones are "um," "uh," "like," "you know," "basically," and "so" used as a reflexive sentence opener rather than to add meaning. Anything used as an unconscious placeholder while thinking counts.

## Related pages

- [Browse open roles](/jobs)

## See your actual filler-word rate

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