I struggle with pausing and saying "um" when speaking on camera for long periods. Any tips for scripting or speaking more confidently?

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I struggle with pausing and saying "um" when speaking on camera for long periods. Any tips for scripting or speaking more confidently?

One quick hack is to stop saying "um" altogether—just pause silently instead of filling the gap with a filler. I tend to have a halting cadence because I don't know what I'm going to say next, so I catch myself and replace the filler with a brief silence, which makes me sound more confident. Another tip, especially for Loom or similar recordings, is to speak slower. Slowing down gives your brain extra time to formulate thoughts, and viewers can speed up the playback if they want. This extra 20‑30 % time lets you articulate more clearly while still appearing at a natural pace to the audience. Most creators increase speed rather than decrease it, so keep the speed lower and let the slower delivery improve clarity.

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What tips do you have for speaking more clearly and reducing filler words in long‑form videos and sales calls?

The simplest hack is to talk a tiny bit slower; slower, consistent speech lets listeners increase playback speed, making you sound more articulate. The other hack is to gain experience by speaking a lot—years of daily sales, especially cold calling, forced you to explain problems, solutions, and fit in simple terms, which crystallized your ability to articulate complex ideas. Repeating the same pitch tens of thousands of times built mental ‘rivers’ that make clear speech effortless. For immediate improvement, just slow down a little; you’ll perform much better.

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Even after being on camera thousands of times, my fear is still as strong as the first time. What practical, actionable things can I do to fix it, not just 'reps'?

Talk slower. The ums and uhs and sounding like you don't know what you're talking about usually happen because your mouth is moving faster than your mind — like a dog outrunning its handler. When you're nervous, your mouth speeds up while your mind actually slows down, so you have to consciously get them moving at the same rate instead of letting your mouth get way ahead and then having to wait for your mind to catch up. Second: nail the start. A large portion of how well I perform by the end of a call or video depends on how I perform at the beginning — if I kick things off right, I do a lot better for the rest of it, sometimes to the point I'll re-record an intro two or three times until it lands. If that means scripting the first 15-30 seconds of a video, that's totally fine — it buys your mind time to get ahead of your mouth and the rest flows a lot more smoothly.

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youtube ↗Marketing

Do you script your videos, and how can I overcome fear of being on camera?

I don’t script my videos beyond choosing a theme or title; they’re raw and rely on repetition. When I do a live build, I already understand what I’m building—either from that morning’s shower or from past experience—so explaining it is just rehearsed repetition, not making things up on the spot. These Q&A videos are even more raw than the live builds, so they’re a good benchmark for how much you can reasonably upskill. To overcome camera fear, focus on speaking at a pace that matches your thinking. When nervous, your mouth tends to outrun your mind, causing ums and a sense of unpreparedness. Slow down so your mouth and mind stay in sync—think of it as keeping a dog from outrunning its handler. Another tip: start strong. A solid opening (whether on a video or a sales call) sets the tone and boosts confidence; you can even script the first 15–30 seconds to get rolling, then let the rest flow naturally.

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How have you improved your speaking skills? Clearly it's a strength of yours — any advice?

I don't really have a straight-line path here beyond just talking constantly. I used to do door-to-door sales for a long time, where being perceived as articulate mattered a lot. I did tons of sales in the years after, cold calls, cold emails leading to booked meetings, and my Upwork application strategy required recording a large number of videos daily where I had to speak clearly on camera. I wish I had a clean two- or three-step program to give you, but in reality the vast majority of this skill just came from doing it a lot, to the point where my brain is just wired to talk in a way that seems reasonably put together.

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