Speech pauses are an important part of communication, as they allow the speaker to take a breath and think about what they want to say next. HEMS is an acronym for Hesitation Markers, which are words or sounds that indicate a pause in speech, such as 'um' or 'uh'. UMS stands for Unfilled Pauses, which are pauses that are not filled with any words or sounds. ERS stands for Extended Pauses, which are longer pauses that can be used to emphasize a point or to give the speaker more time to think.