I do it.  Bill Gates does it.  Steve Jobs and other famous people do it too.  We sneak in some  'ahs, ums, so, you know's' when we talk.  

Those short words are also known as verbal fillers, crutch words, or verbal pauses.  When you’re doing a long presentation or all day class, a few 'ums' and 'ahs' is ok.  But it should not be the main word that binds all of your thoughts and sentences together.  Ah, , don’t worry, there are some things you can do to curtail your crutch words.  

First, what's wrong with those fillers?

• A speech sounds less practiced
• Interfere with the complete thought you’re trying to convey
• Affects credibility
  

• Know where the fillers are coming from:  According to ManagerTool.com (www.manager-tools.com/forums-894)  “Ums and Ahs happen because you mouth is trying to speak before your brain has formed the thought.”
• Record yourself:  Listening to one’s voice is hard but sometimes we have to be our own example in order to learn.  Some voicemail boxes have a playback feature so select that function when you’re leaving a message for someone.  You can always erase and start over.  
• Practice:  Start practicing in your everyday conversation, monitoring and avoiding those fillers.    When you’re on the phone with customer service, filter yourself, even if you have to slow down your pace a bit.   From there, graduate yourself to a bigger audience at work, church, or them gym. 
  
• Say nothing:  When you feel an ah, um coming up at the end of statement, just say nothing.   Your brain will start to get trained.  
• Don’t be afraid of a little silence:   In between sentences, we have silence and it makes some of us uncomfortable.  But a pause will give the audience time to digest the point you just made. 
  

• It would create another level of interaction with my students and provide the means to reach out to them in the off hours
• Illustrate that Facebook is more that a socializing tool but a place to extend the classroom and learn valuable information
• Reinforce or supplement lecture information
  

• More than 500 million active users
• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook (recalculated to years = 1,901.32 years)
• Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events
• There are more than 250 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
• More than 70 translations available on the site
  

1. Allow  students to be part of the process.    I asked to students how we were going to use Facebook in the class.   We had a good brainstorming session and the page is a result of that discussion. 
   
2. Invite other faculty or college staff so they can share information. 
   
3. Posts are strictly course related (see the image below):
   
   • technical news
   • portfolio of work
   • session highlights from the day
   • project tips
   • videos
   • reminders
4. Encourage students to locate tech or course related news and ask them to post on the wall. 
   
5. Turn off students news feeds so that I do not get bombarded with non-course matters.
6. Do not post cel phone photos because of geotagging
   
7. Emphasize that it is a tool -- an accessory -- and not a replacement for each student presence in the class.
8. Profile icon is the course name and number.  
9. Facebook does not have an attachment tool so I did distribute documents via email.
   
10. At the end of the course, I tell students they can 'un-friend' me without any problems or concerns. 
    

1.    Golfers practice, practice, practice.    I read that one of the reasons why Tiger Woods is so masterful is because he out practices his opponents (even after a tournament has concluded for the day).    My take is that he devotes more than just time on the course -- each practice is a full focus performance, as if there is a live crowd and a scoreboard. 

2.    Golfers study the venue.  Have you ever been to a place that is unfamiliar?   It is an uncomfortable and unsettling feeling.  That energy is contagious.  Our attention  is not on our messages but on the unfamiliarity of the environment.

To ‘just show up’ and lecture or speak on the spot is not enough.  Golfers study the terrain, the weather, and the time zone.    They have detailed photos and maps of the locations.  

For the rest of us, what is our terrain or weather?   Is there a stage, a lectern, a microphone, overhead projector, a clock, carpeted floors, air conditioning, chair seating, tables, or  are there computer stations with large monitors? 

We should know our terrain ahead of time so that we are not surprised by the quirks or uniqueness of the environment.   When we are familiar, we are more comfortable about conveying our message. 

3.    Golfers elevate themselves when they play on a variety of golf courses.   I found an anonymously authored quote from Quote Garden,  “A golfer's diet:  live on greens as much as possible.” 

We become more expansive and confidence when we experience different audiences and locations.  This can only build our resilience and expertise.