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Avoiding Filler Words Made Me a More Confident Public Speaker
How speaking with intention means making every word count
I’ve spent most of my adult life using my voice, pursuing words, writing them, and even helping to preserve them along the way. And for the last four years, I’ve often taken the stand to speak out in defense of the common good at my town’s council meetings.
I grew up wanting to be a doctor, but eventually, I realized words can cut deeper than any scalpel. Somewhere along the way, I left science for the humanities and earned a degree in Linguistics and Language Teaching. But a teacher’s career was never enough for me. Teaching in a school meant following a curriculum like a prescription. And passive acceptance never worked for someone who has a mind of their own and doesn’t favor the “one hat fits all” model of our national education system.
The life of a teacher is often misunderstood, as you can learn every rule in grammar and still fail to send the message through. So these days, I split my time between coaching clients, mentoring young talent, and speaking at my town’s local assembly. It’s a strange mix. Language teacher, life coach, and deputado. And in every one of these spaces, I’ve learned one thing:
