Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak? - Lorenzo García-Amaya
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TEDEd Animation
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For as long as we’ve had language, some people have tried to control it. And some of the most frequent targets of this communication regulation are the ums, ers, and likes that pepper our conversations. These linguistic fillers occur roughly 2 to 3 times per minute in natural speech. So are ums and uhs just a habit we can’t break? Or is there more to them? Lorenzo García-Amaya investigates.
Hesitations, filled pauses, and discourse markers are useful for directing conversations. Why, then, do you think that they have negative connotations?
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Lorenzo García-Amaya
- Director Yael Reisfeld
- Narrator Addison Anderson
- Music Yael Reisfeld
- Sound Designer Yael Reisfeld, Samuel Bellingham
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal, Dan Kwartler
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Script Editor Alex Gendler
- Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam
