IELTS Speaking Fillers That Sound Natural (and Ones to Drop)

Priya Sharma

Priya Sharma writes English learning guides for ESL students. Pune-based language enthusiast.

Visual representation of the voice · not a photographic portrait

Quick answer: Use short fillers that do a clear job: buy thinking time, add a point, or soften an opinion, such as "Well," "Let me think," and "I'd say." Avoid repeating the same phrase, long memorized openers, and filling every pause with "um." Always follow a filler with real content.↗ Share on X

IELTS speaking fillers help you sound natural when they do one clear job: buy you a second to think, show you are moving to a new idea, or soften an opinion. Short phrases like "Well," "Let me think," "To be honest," and "I'd say" work because native speakers really use them. They hurt you when you repeat the same one again and again, use long memorized openers, or fill every pause with "um." The goal is not to stop pausing. It is to pause the way a fluent speaker pauses.

Many test takers think the examiner counts every "um" against them. That is not how it works. The test checks fluency and coherence, which means whether you can keep talking without long, awkward stops and whether your ideas link together. Natural fillers support both. Robotic fillers damage both.

How is fluency judged in the IELTS speaking test?

READ ALSOIELTS Part 2 Notes: A 60-Second Plan That Fills 2 Minutes →IELTS Writing Cohesion: Linking Words That Reach Band 8 →IELTS Writing Task 2: A 5-Step Plan to Organize Ideas →

The speaking test is a face-to-face conversation with an examiner and lasts about 11 to 14 minutes. It has three parts:

1. Part 1: short questions about familiar topics, like your home, work, or hobbies.

2. Part 2: you get a topic card, one minute to prepare, and then speak for up to two minutes.

3. Part 3: a longer discussion about more abstract ideas linked to the Part 2 topic.

Your score comes from four areas: fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Fillers mainly affect the first one. In the public band descriptors, higher bands describe a speaker who hesitates mostly to find ideas, not to search for words or grammar. In other words, thinking pauses are normal. Panic pauses are the problem.

Which fillers sound natural, and when should you use them?

Group your fillers by the job they do. Then pick one or two from each group and practice them until they come out without effort.

Notice that most of these are short. Short fillers sound like real thinking. Long ones sound like a script.

What fillers should you stop using?

READ ALSOIELTS Speaking: Use Advanced Words Without Sounding Fake →IELTS Opinion Essay: How to Reach Band 8 in Writing Task 2 →IELTS Task 2 Grammar: Fix the 7 Costly Errors in 5 Minutes →

Some phrases are taught in many prep courses, so examiners hear them all day. Overusing them can make your answers sound memorized.

• "That's a very interesting question." Fine once in the test. Used before every answer, it sounds rehearsed. Save it for a Part 3 question that really makes you pause.
• "As far as I'm concerned..." Correct, but very formal and overused. "Personally" or "I think" sounds more natural in conversation.
• "Like" after every few words. One or two times is normal speech. Constant "like" makes your answer hard to follow.
• "You know" at the end of every sentence. It can sound like you are asking the examiner to fill in your meaning.
• Long memorized opening lines, such as a full sentence you prepared to start every Part 2 talk. Examiners are trained to notice language that does not fit naturally.
• Silent freezing. A long silence is usually worse than a short natural filler.

A simple rule: if you use the same filler more than twice in one part of the test, swap it for another one.

How do you use fillers in each part of the test?

Part 1. Questions are simple, so you rarely need long thinking time. Use a quick filler only when a question surprises you.

Examiner: "Do you like rainy days?"

You: "Hmm, it depends, really. If I'm at home, I love them, because I can read and drink tea. But if I have to go out, they're a bit annoying."

Part 2. You have one minute to prepare, so you should not need fillers to start. Use them to link your points and to recover if you lose your place.

"...so that's how I first met her. On top of that, she helped me a lot when I moved to a new city. Anyway, going back to why she's important to me..."

Part 3. Questions are harder and more abstract. This is where thinking fillers matter most, because nobody has a ready answer about, say, the future of public transport.

Examiner: "Will people use public transport more in the future?"

You: "That's a tough one. I suppose it depends on the country. In big cities, I'd say yes, mainly because traffic is getting worse. But in rural areas, I'm not so sure..."

In each example, the filler is followed right away by real content. That is the key. A filler should lead into an idea, not replace one.

How can you practice so fillers come out naturally?

You cannot think about fillers during the test. They have to be automatic. Here is a simple seven-day plan using 15 to 20 minutes a day.

1. Day 1: Listen. Watch an unscripted English interview or podcast. Write down every filler the speakers use. You will notice how short they are.

2. Day 2: Choose. From the table above, pick two phrases per job. That gives you a small set you can actually remember.

3. Day 3: Part 1 drill. Answer ten Part 1 questions out loud. Record yourself. Use a thinking filler on at least three answers.

4. Day 4: Listen back. Count your fillers. Mark any you repeated more than twice, and any "um" pauses longer than a couple of seconds.

5. Day 5: Part 2 drill. Do three topic cards with the real timing: one minute to prepare, two minutes to speak. Practice linking phrases like "On top of that" and "Anyway."

6. Day 6: Part 3 drill. Answer five abstract questions. Practice "I suppose," "It depends," and "I've never really thought about that, but..."

7. Day 7: Full mock test. Do all three parts in one go and record it. Compare it with Day 3.

If you can, practice with a partner or tutor who interrupts with follow-up questions. Real conversation pressure is what makes fillers natural.

What if you completely blank on a question?

It happens to strong speakers too. Do not stay silent. Use one of these honest recovery lines, then give any reasonable answer:

• "I've never really thought about that, but I'd guess..."
• "That's not something I know much about, but in my country..."
• "Let me think about that for a second..." (and then actually start talking)

You are tested on your English, not on your knowledge. A simple, clear answer in good English is better than a long silence while you search for a clever idea. If you did not understand the question, in Part 1 you can simply ask the examiner to repeat it. In Part 3 you can ask them to explain what they mean.

Do fillers matter more than vocabulary or grammar?

No. Fillers are a small tool for one of four scoring areas. They help you keep talking smoothly, which gives you more chances to show good vocabulary and grammar. But no filler can rescue an answer that is too short or has no real content. Spend most of your practice on extending answers with reasons and examples, and use fillers as the glue between those ideas.

Your next step today

Pick just three fillers from the table: one to buy time, one to add a point, and one to give an opinion. Then answer five Part 1 questions out loud and record yourself, using each of your three fillers at least once. Listen back and count how often you repeated a phrase or froze. Tomorrow, do the same with one Part 2 topic card using the real one-minute preparation time. In a week, these phrases will come out on their own, and that is exactly how they need to sound on test day.

FAQ

Do fillers lower my IELTS speaking score?

Not when they are natural and short. The test looks at whether you can keep speaking without long, awkward stops. Natural thinking pauses are normal; constant repetition and long silences are what hurt fluency.

Is "That's an interesting question" a bad phrase in IELTS?

It is fine once, when a question really makes you think. Used before every answer, it sounds memorized. Mix in shorter options like "Hmm" or "Let me think."

What should I say if I don't know anything about a Part 3 topic?

Say something honest like "I've never really thought about that, but I'd guess..." and give a simple answer. The examiner is testing your English, not your knowledge.