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Studies Show Filler Words Impact Listener Engagement
Episode 1283rd June 2026 • Podcast Editors Mastermind • Steve Stewart, Mark Deal
00:00:00 00:28:09

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Do filler words matter?

Tom Hanson found several key findings from research and industry data that shows filler words do matter!

"Episodes with >4 filler words per minute saw 18–22% higher drop-off rate in the first 10 minutes compared to “clean” episodes" according to a Riverside listener study.

How can you and I use this knowledge to convince potential clients that it's worth paying us to remove filler words?

We discuss the impact of filler words on the success of podcasts in this episode of the Podcast Editors Mastermind Show.

👉 Stick around to the end for the post-production process Steve used to get excited about editing this interview.

Key moments:

  • The perception of editing out fillers has changed
  • Research on the Impact of Filler Words in Podcasts
  • Convincing Clients to Pay for Editing

Resources mentioned in the show:

About Tom Hanson:

Tom started KNVP Studios in 2014 and has offering his services in the professional television, film and audio/video business for over 30 years.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, with a minor in Audio Recording and Music Synthesis and has worked with the biggest studios in the world such as MGM, Sony Pictures, MTV, and HBO, and countless others in state-of-the-art facilities.

Tom also created "Audiocore Edit Assist", which is a service that creates marker files for Audition, Reaper, Hindenburg, and Audacity: https://www.knvpstudios.com/audiocore

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Chapters:

(00:00) Stay to the End for Post-production Processes

(01:43) Has Editing Fillers Changed?

(08:01) Research on Filler Words

(12:46) Editors Are More Sensitive to Fillers

(15:32) Convincing Clients to Pay for Editing

(20:04) How Audiocore Edit Assist Works

(23:20) How This Episode Was Edited Differently

(26:41) Send me YOUR Workflow Process!

Mentioned in this episode:

The Podcast Editor Academy

Get access to Steve Stewart's 35+ years of small business experience and decade of learning inside the Podcast Editor Academy - PLUS: -Weekly Challenges via email -Windshield University with our Private Podcast -Office Hours

Podcast Editor Academy



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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