Ummm... Ahh.. Y'know... Err....

Few tips (used to be a radio presenter)

- When recording promos or audio clips, smile as you speak - it comes out in your voice and actually sounds better if you compare it to when you spoke without smiling

- Replace 'umms / ahhs' with silence - it makes you sound like you're a bit deeper in thought. Annunciation is important with this though, so if your voice sounds trembly and nervous then this method won't work. You will have to consciously record yourself doing this a number of times before this will be automatic

- I'm assuming you're ad-libbing as you go along instead of reading from prepared notes. Record once ad-lib, write down word for word what you intended to say, then re-record with the notes nearby to prompt you. Don't sound like you're reading word for word. It may help to put these into dot form although that depends upon personal preference

- Don't rely on your first recording being the only recording. When you've recorded multiple videos for a long time over and over again then yes, you can use your first recording as it will likely be near-perfect if not perfect for your needs. There were many times I recorded audio snippets and something was just not quite right the first time, and re-recording / producing it again, while more time consuming, paid off.

If you are doing live radio shows. then yes, you'll need to work on getting out of the habit (by repetition and awareness) to eliminate any sounds that do not belong, such as heavy sighs, coughs, uhms and ahs, etc.

However, if you are working on a project where there's no live audience as you are recording it, such as a voice over, or recording an Audio Book, then what professionals really do (besides getting out of the bad habits) is have the recording "edited" after the fact. (digitally silencing unwanted sounds, leveling volume discrepancies etc).

It's never bothered me when I hear people do the "um" thing. It's so common that I never notice it much.

If you're really set on getting out of the habit, try writing a script before you do a video, so you're only reading. It's hard to "um," then

Yes I was doing that before but you know what, once you start doing videos like magic these ummm and ahhh will automatically vanish. I started by writing and cramming a script then started getting from my own without prior preparation with a lot of ummm and ahhh. But as I got more used to that disappeared. The funny thing is when I am teaching live I dint get the problem at all unless I talk to myself pretending am talking to an audience thats when I used to get uummm problems.

Hey Fellow Warriors,

When it comes to perfecting speech, its just a matter of doing and doing and doing it

From my personal experience of doing video marketing for the past eight years, practice makes perfect.

When I go back and look at my old videos, you will see that I used to say ummm, huh...ohhh LOL

Now it comes as natural as driving a car.

Audio: Get Audacity (free, and you'll need the LAME encoder for exporting to mp3 format--seriously, that's what it's called...also free). Or any audio editor will do.

Video: Use your editing software. Talk over slides. You can use a "Hi I'm X" in-person opening/closing if you like, but have the main presentation over slides.

In both cases, simply zoom into the audio track so you can see individual words, and trim out your ums and ahs.

In the videos, because you're trimming a static slide screen (the slide doesn't change) no one ever knows.

This is tedious, but well worth it. I do it with interviews and products.

It makes you, and your guest if you're interviewing someone, sound really on the ball!

After awhile, you'll even start to know what an "um" looks like represented in an audio recording.

The deletion process will double the time you spend on prepping your media, but it will hasten the pacing, increase your listener retention rate, and make you proud of the result.

For years, I wanted to collect all of the ums and ahs deleted from an interview and compile them for giggles. Here's a few from an interview I did with copywriter Mark Pescetti. We sure sound smart, don't we (yeah, with 'em gone from the audio, we do):

http://www.salestactics.org/wp-conte...2015/01/Um.mp3

Keep making recordings...over time you will improve as a speaker. This is a SKILL and you don't pop out of the womb great at it. Do you do dry runs to get the lay of the land before you record the final version? Do you really know your topic and what you're trying to express? These are things you can do to hasten your improvement.

Tips videos typically require two takes for me: the first stumbled through to get clear on what//how I'm trying to express, and the second for it to be nicely done. But I have many years of experience at talking as a corporate speaker. That's why interviews are a bit more challenging...questions are often in reaction to what my subject is saying and that's what leads to the ums as I'm figuring out what I'm asking on the fly. In a presentation, I'm fully in control, know my topic, and know how I'm going to say what I'm saying...and that leads to great first and second takes.

Put a picture in front of you of a person close to you and talk to that person.

Edit your audio, removing the umms.

Unless you're doing a live demo or interview, etc, record your audio first, then time the video to the audio voice over. I like to record the audio in multiple short segments instead of one long one, with each segment corresponding to a "scene" or "slide" in the video, usually about 7-15 seconds long each.

I have a similar problem, so when I'm doing my screencasts I first writ edown what I want to say and then intentially include some "you know what, umm, actually...etc." moments to make it soudn more natural. And then of course I edit and fine tune the recording.

If you have a really good understanding of what you're talking about, along with speaking practice, you will ooh and ahh very little.

Lots of great tips here.

For audio recordings I use Audactiy to edit out all umms and ahs. Great audio editing capabilities. The editing process is very easy and you can edit with no problem.
I have used it for interviews when every few words by the person I was interviewing was a "you know". It made the final recording sound very professional.

While I have done many of my own audios with cue cards, the easiest ones for me have been using a script. It takes a bit to make it sound natural. I edit as I go and re-record as needed. With practice, using natural inflections in your voice the final recording will sound great.

I know how you feel? I too tried to work on my speech when recording videos. It's only when I spoke with someone on facebook after viewing one of my videos did he say "The more raw and honest you are the more appealing you are to your viewers". And you know what he was right... All I can say is be yourself! You're unique and people will relate to you.

For many years I spoke at seminars with many thousands of people present. The biggest thing that helped me was recording my first drafts and rehearsals. You end up hearing your own "word whiskers" and yes it is painfully embarrassing. The more you listen and then try it again the more you improve. You may be surprised how quickly you can get rid of bad habits.

Once you have improved don't worry about the occasional slip. Most people won't notice or even if they do they won't care.

It is much easier to sound natural, sincere, and convincing with an outline or brief notes. This is much preferred to a word-for-word manuscript.

Speak to a picture of someone or a mirror (a little harder) to make it feel real. In the beginning I would rehearse in front of my spouse and they would literally count my ums and also take note of words I mispronounced.

I would not bother with the suggestions to edit out your mistakes. It is better to have a goal for personal development and simply improve your original recordings. This will also help you in your day to day conversations and other socializing. Ums and ahs are not hard to eliminate with some conscious effort.

Don't be afraid of some silence. The gaps are usually not as long as you think. If it is not so long or frequent that it becomes distracting many people will not even notice. The more videos you make that will also automatically improve. Simple preparation and rehearsal will also help you to decrease unwanted silences.

Continue practicing and doing videos. If there's something you need to think about pause for a bit. People don't mind a pause. It may sound like a long gap to you, but usually it's not. I had the same problem when I started doing videos, but kept doing them anyways. If I didn't feel confident enough in the video I didn't post it. Or I did it over until I was satisfies.

You can also edit your videos and take them out if you want to to that. If you want to work on your speaking and you have time you could always join a toastmasters meet up in your area. I'm sure you can get some great tips and practice in at weekly get meetups or however often they do them in your area.

I haven't trained myself out of the 'ummmms' yet... so I feel your pain. lol.

Hello emptee

First of all do some video just to see and hear yourself ..... so see and feel where and what you need to fix; speaks always with a smile, will come to those who look at you and trained to speak breathing with your diaphragm. You'll see that your voice will become beautiful !!

Good luck

Hello, you can very well edit your video and remove "ums and errs". However, try to replace it with silence, I actually think a pause is better than hearing a nervous voice. This said, you need a lot of patience and practice. Good luck buddy

If it is more comfortable to record audio of yourself that way, then do it. Just edit out what you don't like. You'll find that is much easier than concentrating on a perfect delivery, which in the end will probably sound very stilted.

Video is trickier, but it still can be done, if the shot is not of you, the entire time - and we all know that it shouldn't be. lol

Cheers. - Frank