When we stumble, misspeak, or fill our speech with um, er, and uh sounds, we are speaking with disfluencies. Michael Erard wrote a book on the subject called Um…: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean. Learn about what disfluencies are, their cultural perception, and why they may not be such a bad thing from Michael and Katie Gore of Speech IRL.

Music in the episode was contributed by Podington Bear.

The Toastmasters video we mention in the episode can be seen here.

Here’s George’s ‘UMM’ piece we feature in the episode:

In the 2013 Zagat Dining Trends Survey, diners shared information about their tipping habits, favorite cuisines, and even their top complaints about restaurants. Not surprisingly, high prices, poor service, and crowded restaurants were some of the biggest gripes, but the number one complaint was noise. How much of the sound is there by design and how can restaurant owners use sound to make dining out a more pleasant (and less noisy) experience?

Clark Wolf has consulted to restaurants, hotels, and just about every type of venue where people gather to enjoy food. Part of his job is to think about the ways in which sound can be used to enhance dining experiences. Learn more about the best and the worst of sound and music in restaurants with Clark Wolf on this episode of Everything Sounds.

Shapenote singing is a tradition developed in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s that helped everyday people sing music even if they couldn’t sight-read standard musical notation. Shapenote and the Sacred Harp songbook are still allowing people to share a musical experience until this day. Learn more about this tradition from Anne Heider, Robert from the Chicago Shapenote Singers, and Ruth Reveal.

Click here to download and read Ruth’s paper on shape note singing and Sacred Harp.

You can learn more about Shapenote, the Sacred Harp, and find singings in your area at fasola.org.

Thanks to Kate Lumpkin for her help with this episodes.