In live trainings I've been listening for one specific thing: which phrases people are using more out of habit than intention.
"At the end of the day."
"Long story short."
"Just to give you a bit of context."
The room's ear stops registering them. They land like throat-clearing. Air, not signal. Most of the time the pitch is stronger if you cut the phrase and start the sentence one beat later. The opening is doing more work than you think.
Try noticing your own filler this week. Not eliminating yet. Just noticing.
What's one phrase you've stopped using in pitches this year, and what replaced it?