Saying it with a few “ums” still counts. The point was to say it.

Fluency and courage get mixed up constantly. The hard part was opening your mouth with the room looking at you, and you did that. Filler words are just the sound your brain makes while catching up to your mouth, and nobody is grading contributions on smoothness. A rough version of a real thought beats a polished version of nothing.

In class or on shift this week, say the half-formed thing instead of waiting for it to arrive complete. Let a pause be a pause rather than packing it with noise. You will notice the gaps shrink the more often you talk.