Choosing between “um” and “like”

2:45

If you said, "I was um, thinking about going to New York," compared to "I was uh, thinking

2:45

about going to New York."

2:46

Which one sounds better?

2:48

Is there a difference?

2:49

Yes.

2:50

Oftentimes I feel like people use "um" in more presentation style situations.

2:56

So let's say you're giving a presentation and you're not certain what you're going to

3:00

say next.

3:01

And you're using a filler expression; you're probably more likely to say "um."

3:07

And this is recommended to be avoided in presentation situations, so if you're having a daily conversation

3:14

with someone and you have a little pause in your sentence, I recommend saying "uh."

3:18

"I was thinking about uh, going to New York."

3:20

"I was thinking about uh, going to New York."

3:23

Uh.

3:24

The second filler word is of course: "like."

3:28

Like, like, like, like.

3:30

I am guilty of using this one a lot.

3:34

And it can be overused, but it can be used in a tactful, natural way as well.

3:41

So let's go back to our sample sentence about New York.

3:44

I could say, "I was like, thinking about going to New York."

3:49

Or I could say, "I was thinking about going to like, New York."

3:54

It's just a filler word, it doesn't have any meaning by itself.

3:57

And if you use this just a couple times in your conversation, this is natural.

4:04

If you use it after every word, after every expression, it's a little bit overkill.

4:10

Overkill means too much.