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This is not necessary prevarication. In fact, it almost certainly is not. The vast majority of people speak with filler words (vocalized pauses) punctuating their words when they are speaking normally and being completely honest. We do not hear it in others' speech patterns unless we're specifically looking out for it, and that often requires specialized training. (Speech pathologies can and do exaggerate this, of course, but it's a near-universal phenomenon, except for carefully trained public speakers who have worked very hard to avoid it. And even they're not immune.)
– Cody Gray - on strike
Commented May 7, 2020 at 4:02
@CodyGray: it depends on the context; and specifically whether the speaker is embarrassed, flustered, caught misrepresenting, or just tongue-tied. In adults, doing this excessively could suggest lack of truthfulness; or being bad at speaking in public. More commonly than speech pathologies.
– smci
Commented Dec 16, 2022 at 5:01

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