Vocal Fillers & Articulation Audits
This page documents how Mockrithm detects and grades vocal filler words during your mock interviews.
1. What are Vocal Fillers?
Vocal fillers are placeholder words or sounds used to fill pauses in speech (e.g. um, ah, like, basically, actually). While natural in casual conversation, excessive use of filler words in interviews can make answers feel unprepared or less confident.
2. Tracked Filler Words
The articulation engine monitors your speech for these common filler words:
| Filler Word | Typical Cause | Articulation Impact | Suggested Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Um" / "Ah" | Formulating the next sentence | High | Pause silently for a second instead of making a sound. |
| "Like" | Transitioning between ideas | Medium | Use structured transition phrases (e.g., "Furthermore", "Specifically"). |
| "Basically" | Simplifying explanations | Low | State the main point directly without prefacing it. |
| "Actually" | Correcting statements | Low | State the corrected details directly and clearly. |
3. Scoring Impact Calculation
The articulation engine tracks your total filler word count and updates your score based on these thresholds:
graph TD
FillerCount[Total filler count per minute] --> CheckCount{Filler Rate}
CheckCount -->|0 - 2 fillers/min| Optimal[Score Impact: 0 deduction - Excellent]
CheckCount -->|3 - 5 fillers/min| Warning[Score Impact: -5 points deduction]
CheckCount -->|Above 5 fillers/min| HighDeduct[Score Impact: -15 points deduction]