Wednesday, February 25, 1998 at 02:17:16

This is such a cool topic!  I as well as most people that I know do this all the time.  I have just simply thought that filling in time between words is just an escape from that dreaded silence--at least in most situations.  However, your findings are phenomenal!

- A

Actually, there are probably many cases where a filled pause is just 'escaping silence', as you nicely put it.  In many interactive situations it seems that silence no matter how brief is somehow interpreted as a flaw and is discomforting for all participants.  However, many times the filled pause is merely an indicator that thinking is taking place.  A filled pause is not--as some would have us believe--evidence of the need for speech therapy...

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