here is a piece of TOEFL Speaking advice you have probably heard a hundred times. Never start your answer with a filler phrase. No "that's a good question," no "let me think," no "well..." The idea is that these wind-up phrases waste time and drag your score down.
It sounds right. So we checked it against the data, and it turns out to be wrong. Opening with a wind-up phrase did not lower scores and did not shorten answers. If you have been anxiously policing your first two words, you can stop. The score is decided by something else entirely.
Quick answer
Across more than 3,300 scored interview answers, responses that opened with a wind-up phrase like "that's a good question" scored almost exactly the same as answers that did not, and produced the same number of words. The opener is not what matters. What matters is how much you say after it and whether you back it with a specific example. Spend your energy there, not on your first two words.
What the data actually shows
We flagged every interview answer that began with a common wind-up phrase, "that's a good question," "let me think," "well," "there are so many," "it's a difficult question," and compared them to answers that started straight in. Here is the result.
A difference of 0.03 on a six-point scale is nothing, and the word counts are identical. Whatever a wind-up phrase does, it does not cost you points and it does not make your answer shorter. The advice to hunt down and delete these phrases is solving a problem that is not there.
One honest note on the numbers. These scores come from the My Speaking Score AI scorer, which we use to find patterns. The takeaways are grounded in the official ETS rubric.
Where wind-ups actually show up
The data did reveal one small, sensible pattern. Wind-up phrases were most common on the first question of the interview, where 27% of answers used one, compared to about 18 to 20% on the later questions. That makes sense. The first question is the one you are least warmed up for. But even there, the wind-up did not pull the score down.
So what does move the score?
The same thing we keep finding. Length and elaboration. In this dataset, high-scoring interview answers averaged about 99 words and low-scoring ones about 60. The gap between a strong answer and a weak one is not the opener. It is whether you keep going with a reason and a specific example, or stop after one thought.
That reframes where your effort should go. Do not spend the test policing your first two words. It is wasted attention on something the data says is harmless. Spend it on the part that actually counts: saying more, and anchoring it to something concrete.
What to do instead
Let the opener be whatever comes naturally, then focus everything on the body of the answer. Give your position, give a reason, and add one specific example with a name, a number, or a place. Build it out until you have said something real. That is where the score lives.
If a wind-up phrase helps you settle and start talking, use it. A calm start that leads into a full, specific answer beats an anxious one where you are second-guessing your first words.
See it in your own answers
Curious what your own answers look like once the opener is off the table? Take a free practice test on My Speaking Score, answer an interview question, and check the part that matters: how many words you produced and whether you included a concrete example. That is the fixable thing, and it is not your first two words.
FAQ
Should I avoid saying "that's a good question" on the TOEFL?You do not need to. In our data, answers that opened with a wind-up phrase scored the same as answers that did not. It is harmless. Focus on the body of your answer instead.
Do filler openers waste time on TOEFL Speaking?A brief wind-up phrase did not shorten answers or lower scores in our data. A long, rambling non-answer is different, but a normal opener costs you nothing measurable.
Then what actually raises my TOEFL Speaking interview score?Length and elaboration. High-scoring answers were much longer than low-scoring ones, around 99 words versus 60, and they backed their point with a specific example. That is where to put your effort.
Why do people say to avoid filler phrases?It is intuitive advice: fillers feel like wasted time. But intuition is not data, and when we measured it, the effect was not there. This is a good reminder to test common tips rather than assume they are true.
Is it bad to pause before I answer?A short pause is fine. Use it to pick your position and your example, then give a full answer. What hurts is long silence in the middle of the answer, not a brief moment at the start.
The takeaway
"Never say that's a good question" is one of those tips that sounds obviously right and turns out to be wrong. In our data, the opener made no measurable difference to the score or the length of the answer. So stop policing your first two words. The score is won in the body of the answer, by saying more and grounding it in a specific example. Put your energy where the data says it counts.