Review of Speaking Section of TOEFL Prep Book

I was reading through a popular TOEFL IBT prep book at the library, just to see what kind of advice they were giving.  I was particularly interested in what they had to say for the speaking section.

They gave some standard tips such as preparing answers for the opinion questions before the test and using frames such as "Although others think that ______ because _______, I believe that ________ for several reasons. First, ______"

Then I came across a strategy that surprised me.  The author of the book recommended filling pauses with "uh" and "um" instead of pausing in silence.  Frankly, I disagree.  When you listen to accomplished speakers, they do not use fillers.  When I rated spoken responses, I considered filled pauses worse than silence.

All in all, I thought the speaking section was a bit light.  I will continue reviewing similar books and see which provide material that will help test takers improve the most.