Uh-huh, Uh-uh, Hmm

Three Simple Sounds That Change How We Lead

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Years ago, I began paying attention to something subtle but powerful: the way my body speaks without words. Particularly, in three kinds of responses:

Uh-huh. Uh-uh. Hmm.

These small, often unconscious sounds began showing up more clearly in moments of reflection, decision-making, and interaction. They weren’t just habits. They felt like signals—messengers of something my body knew before my mind could make sense of it.

Over time, I began to honor these expressions as a kind of wisdom—trusting that when my body responded with a soft uh-huh (affirmation), or a quiet uh-uh (negation), it was revealing something real, even if I couldn’t explain it. These sounds became an intuitive guide. A way of sensing truth before thought.

More recently, I’ve invited my son into this practice as well. Together, we playfully track when these vocalizations arise—his natural uh-uh when something doesn’t feel right, or his hmm (reflection or hesitation) when a question is still alive inside him. In doing so, we’re learning to listen to the body not just as a source of feeling, but as a source of knowing.

I remember in school how these kinds of sounds—uh-huh or hmm—were often dismissed. If we responded that way, the teacher would say, “Put it into words.” The message was clear: knowing only counted if it was verbal. But those sounds were often the truest thing we had.

And yet… these unspoken sounds did count. They were alive with meaning. They were our first responses—intuitive, embodied, pre-verbal—and they often came faster and more honestly than any sentence could. I now see that moment not as a correction, but as a crossroads between two ways of knowing: the world of language, and the world of resonance.

Words are important—language shapes our thoughts, builds bridges, carries stories.

But the pre-linguistic is just as sacred. Just as intelligent. And it, too, deserves to be recognized.

What I’ve come to understand through both lived experience and scholarly research is that these subtle vocalizations are far from trivial. Linguistically, they are known as non-lexical vocalizations—sounds that carry meaning without forming words. Uh-huh (affirmation), uh-uh (negation), and hmm (reflection or hesitation) are examples of what linguist George Trager (1958) identified as vocal segregates, part of the broader category of paralanguage. These expressions shape how we communicate emotion, intent, and relational context without relying on language itself (Crystal, 1975).

They also emerge early in human development—well before formal speech. Infants produce these vocalizations instinctively (Oller, 2000), which suggests that they are neurologically primitive and evolutionarily foundational. Cross-cultural studies confirm that such sounds are widely intelligible, pointing to a universal system of embodied communication (Fitch, 2010).

From a somatic perspective, these vocalizations reflect what Eugene Gendlin (1997) called the felt sense—a subtle, bodily awareness that precedes verbal articulation. The felt sense is not vague; it is specific, intuitive, and alive. It shows up in the pauses, the hesitations, the embodied yes or no that we feel long before we can explain.

This kind of knowing is central to what Varela et al. (1991) described as an embodied mind—where cognition is not confined to the brain, but emerges through our bodies in relation to the world. Sheets-Johnstone (2011) took this further in describing the primacy of movement—how consciousness itself is animated through felt, lived motion.

All of this confirms what many ancient traditions have long taught: that the body knows.

And in many energy-based healing systems, this insight is put into practice through muscle testing—a technique that involves asking the body yes/no questions and observing how the body responds. A strong, coherent response typically indicates alignment (a “yes”); a weak or imbalanced one may signal dissonance (a “no”). Practitioners of modalities such as applied kinesiology, energy medicine, and certain forms of intuitive coaching use muscle testing to access the body’s innate intelligence.

In my own leadership journey, I’ve come to see these small, non-verbal sounds as a kind of vocal muscle testing. When I say uh-huh (affirmation), I often feel a sense of inner strength or clarity. When I say uh-uh (negation), there’s often a physical contraction or withdrawal. When I pause with hmm (reflection or hesitation), I’m in a space of openness—not quite a yes, not yet a no, but something still forming.

These responses are real. They are energetic, somatic, and deeply intelligent.

They come from the part of us that remembers the truth—even before our evolved intelligent mind does.

Leadership Apothecary Practice: The sounds that know the answers

Here are two practices to play with:

Sound Tracking

Pay attention to the subtle vocalizations that arise throughout your day:

• Uh-huh (affirmation) — What feels aligned? What is your body saying yes to?

• Uh-uh (negation) — Where does something feel off, misaligned, or untrue?

• Hmm (reflection or hesitation) — What curiosity or complexity is calling you to pause and listen longer?

Let these sounds guide your next step—not from logic alone, but from resonance.

Somatic Questioning

Try asking your body simple yes/no/maybe questions. Sit or stand in stillness. Breathe. Then gently ask:

• Is this decision aligned with my deeper knowing?

• Does this next step serve my growth?

• Is coffee okay for my body this morning?

• Is this the right time to have this conversation?

Don’t rush. Instead of looking for an answer in your mind, tune in to the response in your body:

• Does a sound emerge?

• Do you feel a lift or a contraction?

• Is there a subtle uh-huh, a hesitation in hmm, or a soft uh-uh?

Over time, this practice becomes a form of muscle testing for the soul. A way of discerning truth through embodied listening.

In a world that often rushes toward explanation, the sound before the word offers us something radical:

• A return to inner coherence.

• A reconnection with intuitive intelligence.

• A remembering that your body knows—and has always known.

Let your uh-huh (affirmation) be your compass. Let your hmm (reflection or hesitation) slow you down. Let your uh-uh (negation) protect your clarity.

There is a language beneath language. And it’s been speaking through you all along.

References

Crystal, D. (1975). The English tone of voice: Essays in intonation, prosody and paralanguage. Edward Arnold.

Fitch, W. T. (2010). The evolution of language. Cambridge University Press.

Gendlin, E. T. (1997). Experiencing and the creation of meaning: A philosophical and psychological approach to the subjective. Northwestern University Press. (Original work published 1962)

Oller, D. K. (2000). The emergence of the speech capacity. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Sheets-Johnstone, M. (2011). The primacy of movement (2nd ed.). John Benjamins Publishing.

Trager, G. L. (1958). Paralanguage: A first approximation. Studies in Linguistics, 13(1–2), 1–12.

Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. MIT Press.