Speaking fast is a high-risk proposition. It’s nearly impossible to maintain the ideal conditions to be persuasive, well-spoken, and effective when the mouth is traveling well over the speed limit. ① Although we’d like to think that our minds are sharp enough to always make good decisions with the greatest efficiency, they just aren’t. ② In reality, the brain arrives at an intersection of four or five possible things to say and sits idling for a couple of seconds, considering the options. ③ Making a good decision helps you speak faster because it provides you with more time to come up with your responses. ④ When the brain stops sending navigational instructions back to the mouth and the mouth is moving too fast to pause, that’s when you get a verbal fender bender, otherwise known as filler. ⑤ Um, ah, you know, and like are what your mouth does when it has nowhere to go.