When you’re editing video content (whether it’s an interview, vlog or for marketing material) there are always choices to be made in terms of the natural flow of the video.

The aim of good video editing is to serve the story without any rough cuts or jumps, all the while keeping the viewer interested in the content for the duration of the video.

Taking out filler words like ‘um’ or ‘ah’ can definitely make your video feel cleaner and more polished. It helps the pacing, keeps things snappy, and gets rid of awkward pauses that might lose your audience’s attention. This works especially well for tutorials, promos, or social media content. In other words, anything where you want to come across as confident and clear.

That said, sometimes cutting them all out can make the speech feel choppy or lead to unusual, jumpy edits —especially if the speaker shifts position between words. In those cases, the edit ends up being more distracting than the filler words.

Also, a few natural ‘ums’ can actually make the person sound more real and relatable, especially in these days of AI voiceovers. For laid-back stuff like podcasts, vlogs, or behind-the-scenes clips, leaving some of that in can help the video feel more genuine. This is also true of breaths taken between words. Again, leaving some in can help the voice sound more natural and human.

ideographyAt the end of the day, it is ultimately a judgement call you make as an editor to see which editing style or pace will suit your content best. This can take some practice and experience to make the right call, but it does get easier with time.

So, maybe try it both ways, and be aware of the difference in feel.

Ben

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