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Show HN: Speech Coaching App – Stop Saying 'Umm', 'Like', 'Uhh'
- ktRolster 10y agoHuh, kind of cool.
- ievans 10y agoFeature idea: can I take a previously-recorded speech and have it show me the filler words after-the-fact? Could be cool to track improvements over time.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- galifre 10y agoAnyone know anything similar for Android?
- acoravos 10y agoFor now we're only iPhone, but looking to release an Android version soon. If you're curious, you can sign up for our newsletter for when we add new products.
- achikin 10y agoAny languages besides English?
- acoravos 10y agoNot yet -- but we are looking to add them soon!
- pseingatl 10y agoIn Spanish these are called "muletillas" and are far from a recent phenomenon. Rather than just being "filler" words, they have a purpose in speech. A speech is not a mere collection of words. Timing and delivery is just as important as eloquence. It is often better to use a filler word than an empty pause.
- jordigh 10y ago"Muletillas" is just the Spanish word for the general linguistic phenomenon of fillers. Both "muletillas" and "fillers" mean the sam thing and serve the same purpose, for example to inform your listener that you're still thinking and forming a sentence, that you are not done. Now I want to read this book about fillers that I just stumbled upon: https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/tsl.93/main https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/tsl.93/main
- JoshTriplett 10y agoThere are better fillers to use than "um" and "uh", though, which don't reflect as badly on the speaker. As some random examples, you can connect things with "Now, [pause] ...", or "On the other hand," or "For that matter,", or many other connecting phrases. Those can be time-fillers too, but as long as they're not overused, they just sound like conversational language rather than making the speaker sound awkward or unpracticed.
- lotharbot 10y agoyou can also sometimes use body language as connective filler. Blah blah blah blah [holds finger up] [dramatic pause] blah blah blah blah blah!
- kagamine 10y agoContinuous, ponderous nodding. The listener's big gun. What I want is people in IT to stop using "super". Super effective, super this, super that. Super hard to stop, but it would be super if they did.
- GrinningFool 10y agoDepending on the circumstance I've been working hard on just using silence - or when that would go on too long , simply saying, "I'm thinking that through" or something similar. Anecdotally people seem more focused on what I'm saying when I do that vs the filler sounds I'm trying to stop saying.
- 10y ago
- gunnihinn 10y agoI don't think this can improve on the classic: https://youtu.be/rguQFPnPIYc?t=1m33s https://youtu.be/rguQFPnPIYc?t=1m33s
- hayksaakian 10y agothis practice actually works, that is to say it worked on me.
- onion2k 10y ago...looking to improve your day-to-day communication... Is there evidence that saying 'umm' and 'ahh' reduces your ability to communicate effectively? Why are they bad? In conversation phonemes tell the listener than you haven't finished speaking but you're thinking about the next thing to say. Without them people would constantly interrupt one another, which would be horrible.
- deepGem 10y agoI don't think there's any evidence. However, in public speaking, using filler words is seen as a negative, in a sense that you don't know your subject very well. In day to day communications, I don't see this as 'room for improvement', as the filler words kind of indicate that you are thinking on the fly.
- ec109685 10y agoThere is a good anecdote here: http://firstround.com/review/radical-candor-the-surprising-secret-to-being-a-good-boss/ http://firstround.com/review/radical-candor-the-surprising-s... I think excessive fillers betrays a lack of confidence in what the person is saying, so reducing will help you be a more persuasive speaker.
- lotharbot 10y agoThat's a great article, and the larger advice is relevant in ordinary relationships -- don't be an enabler; care about people, and be willing to tell them when they're doing something that hurts them or you or the team or the family or whatever. "When you say ummm that much it makes you sound stupid" is much better than ignoring the issue and letting your friend keep sounding like they don't know what they're talking about.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- rtpg 10y agoAs a perpetual "Like"r/stutterer/"mmm"er... I've found that when made conscious of it, I'm usually able to slow down my speech just a little bit and that alone gives my brain the time it needs to form thoughts properly and communicate clearly. At worst it's a good exercise in thinking a bit before speaking, especially for us ADHD-types who tend to blurt out the wrong thing at the wrong time quit often. Our brains seem pretty good at filtering that sort of stuff out, but anecdotally having too many filler words does seem to hurt both comprehension and impressions. So I think it's more of a pacing thing then a latency thing. Slow down your speech a bit and you'll be in a more comfortable range. (Side note as a serial interrupter: it's usually nice to let people finish talking)
- tomjen3 10y agoWhat did you use to de construct the audio?
- s84 10y ago+1
- swayvil 10y agoYes, let's program ourselves to sound more conscious.
- Atlas 10y agoThis is brilliant. I help people with this issue one on one. It makes a huge difference.
- polynomial 10y agoReally isn't the same without the Angular JS powered USB shock box that gives you a jolt each time you say one of the no-no words.
- nappy 10y agoHook it up to this thing. The future is now. http://pavlok.com http://pavlok.com
- Taek 10y agoI have been unable to track down the paper, but a recent study demonstrated that listener comprehension was higher when filler words were used during speech. I think they are stigmatized because often they are used heavily by those who have no idea what they are taking about. But the fix is to know what you are talking about rather than to eliminate 'umm' from your vernacular. These pauses give your audience time to think, give your audience cues on what parts are important, and let you pull together your own thoughts.
- qq66 10y agoAs an example, President Obama says "umm" a LOT and is considered a good speaker.
- kerryritter 10y agoI, uhh, think you make aaaaaa, a good point there.
- crasco 10y agoOnly in his unscripted communications. His reputation as a speaker stems from his delivery of messages that are usually pre-written. He's got plenty of dramatic pauses where normal people would say "ummm".
- dexterdog 10y agoHe's considered a good speaker when he is rehearsed. He is considered an umm-er when he is speaking candidly by anybody who doesn't also speak like that. In his defense, everything he says is hyper-analyzed so he does have to be more careful than most of us.
- 1337biz 10y agoWould be awesome if you could still find that paper. I'd really love to take a look at that.
- GrinningFool 10y agoThis looks like a really helpful app. As someone looking to improve both use of filler words and speed (too fast), I look forward to seeing it arrive on Android.
- theunixbeard 10y agoWould have been good for pg: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3695076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3695076 / https://web.archive.org/web/20120314171633/http://blog.metricfire.com/2012/03/paul-graham-consistently-says-um-7-times-per-minute https://web.archive.org/web/20120314171633/http://blog.metri... / https://web.archive.org/web/20120312055157/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ITLdmfdLI&gl=US&hl=en https://web.archive.org/web/20120312055157/http://www.youtub...
- fhgksjfgh 10y agoGoing by tech talks these days, the most common filler-word is "so", which is also the most common word to start a sentence with
- pivo 10y agoFor some reason "so" used this way bothers me more than other fillers. Also, saying "sort of" something when you mean exactly that thing I also find very distracting.
- jackweirdy 10y agoDavid Cameron usually starts with "Look, ..."
- nutheracc 10y agoAnd "super"!
- tmrtsmith 10y agoThoughts on this: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/05/10/speech_improvement_apps_like_ummo_are_sexist_and_support_inequality.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/05/10/speech_impro...
- anonred 10y agoThe entire premise of that article is laughably naive. There's a huge difference between accents and adding unnecessary filler words as you speak. There's an even bigger difference between using an app to try and actualize certain virtues and imposing those virtues on other people. It's extraordinary that the author has the gall to make this connection. Perhaps she'd also want to censor self-help literature since those might impose virtues that she doesn't support?
- saiya-jin 10y agoumm, it would be like, some teens have not much to say anymore?
- twoquestions 10y agoOne other thing I've noticed especially in large offices is instead of using 'umm' and 'uhh', they speak in such a droning monotone that it makes Ben Stein's classic exaggerated dull speech sound like Freddy Mercury by comparison. This is especially present when the subject of conversation is something neither the speaker nor the listener cares about. Is there a training program or book that can help somebody get away from this kind of speech? A Baptist preacher can read the phone book and make it sound captivating, but the people I'm talking about could read the speech from Independence Day and make it sound dull, so that has to be an acquired skill that can be applied regardless of the subject.
- AwenTech 10y agoToastmasters is a great organization which helps people improve their speaking abilities in all kinds of ways, including the issue you mentioned.
- morning_star 10y agoCan a baptist preacher program in Java? He can't. His job is to speak.
- pklausler 10y agoIf only this app could do something about vocal fries, too.
- mrmondo 10y agoDoesn't seem to work with an Australian / New Zealand accent?