Resolved questions
Should I use Idioms or Phrasal Verbs when writing or speaking?

It's a huge mistake to start using them if your basic vocabulary and grammar is still weak. Make sure you know the basics of English well, otherwise it'll sound like you're trying too hard. Plus, if you're still unclear about standard English, the chances of you making an embarrassing mistake with idioms or phrasal verbs are quite high. Added to that, you must know when it is appropriate to use them. They can't be used just anywhere.

Close enough is not good enough when it comes to idioms and phrasal verbs.

Phrases and filling words are a tool, that is extremely helpful at the inital phase of _speaking_ the language. When you do not have enough experience with sentence building, but still want to speak, then sentence fillers and connectors help you fake the conversation and gain time to think about the sentence. Examples:

- If am to be honest, then...
- That is a hard question, but...
- In my opinion...

And so on. Good source: https://sites.google.com/site/fluentczech/connectorstarterpack
Politicians use these all the time and the speak a lot without saying anything. However, in the advance stages you should avoid them and it is hard to unlearn something :)