People don’t usually grow up with the notion that one day, they may spend countless hours talking into a microphone and thus, they should be constantly honing the craft of speaking. That’s why many podcasters, veterans and newbies alike, struggle with overused “vocal connectors” like umms, ahhs, and you-knows. Hang out on any podcasting-related message board for a day or two and a topic with the headline of “How do I stop saying ‘umm’ all the time?” is sure to pop up. Of course, some of these problematic vocal tics can be removed thru audio editing. But a better approach would be to avoid speaking them in the first place. That’s where the Ummo app comes in.

The first step in using Ummo involves creating a customized list of “filler words and phrases.” Next, press Ummo’s record button and begin speaking. The app will analyze your voice and provide a report based on customized metrics you’ve created. Ummo can also give you feedback on things like the loudness of your voice and your pace when speaking, as well as how clearly you’ve pronounced certain words.

Ummo offers these features to help you improve your speech:

• Annotated speech transcript that helps you review your speech
• Word frequencies and locations for your most-used words and your FillersPace and volume over time, at the word level
• Length of pauses and where they occurred
• See how close your pronounciations were to the average American accent

The Ummo app is available from the iOS App Store for $1.99.