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Comment by CesareBorgia | Hacker News Reader

Does anybody else find it ironic that pg uses an abnormally high amount of filler words himself?

Not in person, and not during the YC dinners.

So these seem to be low stress situations for him, unlike public speaking. YC interviews are obviously high-stress for the founders though.

Having a well thought through business plan is the main thing, the filler words are a secondary issue.

Obviously someone with a solid business plan who speaks cautiously is in a much better position than a smooth talker who is selling vaporware. That's the value of the YC group, they have their priorities determined and they don't get taken for a ride.

Was this during a pitch or informal setting?

For must formal presentations the audience expect clear and concise responses. One should be forgiven for "filling" during a public speech or informal chat.

I find your claim odd, since I've always found his public speaking very competent.

I won't disagree that he is competent, but at the YC talk in New York, his public speaking was filled with filler sounds where it seemed he was nervous to talk in front of a large group of people (even if that was not the case).

Not sure if you've already seen this, but he wrote about his thoughts on speaking and writing [1]. He does admit that he isn't the best public speaker but puts more value in content rather than presentation in these situations.

[1] http://paulgraham.com/speak.html

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