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The Um Game
Become aware of your ‘ums’ and ‘erms’ by playing the Um Game.
You’ll need: two or more players, a stopwatch and strips of
paper with words to guess written on one side. You could also
use word cards from games like ‘Taboo’ or ‘Articulate’.
Aim: Each player should try to get the others to guess
as many words as possible.
Rules: Each player has 30 seconds per turn.
Your turn ends immediately if:
You say the word on the card.
You say ‘um’, ‘erm’ or any other filler (you can
include ‘basically’, ‘essentially’ and so on if you
like).
ADVANCED RULES: Your turn ends if you
gesture.
It’s the audience’s responsibility to point out any ‘ums’ or
gestures.
Keep a count of any words that are successfully guessed.
Once