[justonepost]

I dunno if verbal tics are necessarily the metric to use for great presentations. I know some folks who stumble constantly but present ideas that are pretty incredible. Some people just have amazing recall and can fluidly spew out facts and conclusions. Some people can present compelling ideas they have thought of that no one else but struggle on the vocalization.

[jordanb]

Yeah and some people use them to their advantage. For instance, notice that President Obama uses "umms" to ensure that he's never not making a sound. Makes it harder for an interlocutor to interrupt.

[Doradus]

Huh? That's funny--I would have said the opposite. It was from watching Obama's speeches that I learned that silent pauses can be much less annoying than "umms". If you want to see someone using a lot of "umms", watch Justin Trudeau.

[jordanb]

He speaks very differently during Q/A sessions than during speeches. During Q/A he's never not making a sound.