How Filler Words and Tiny Pauses Keep Conversations from Going off the Rails

Umm… So… Mmhmmm In this earlier post, “Words and Phrases Smart People Never Use in Conversation,” we explained why filler words like these can make you sound less intelligent than you really are. But hold on a second (well, 200 milliseconds, to be exact). According to N.J. Enfield, a professor of linguistics at the University…

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