Speech Disfluency

If we deliver a grammarian report we should recognize that ALL reports and feedback mechanisms represent a single point of view.  There is always another level of detail that we can apply to how we view grammar.  At the extreme level we can cross the line and move from being a grammarian to those annoying types who become the grammar police.

One major function of a grammarian can be counting filler words.  These are four types :

SOUNDS : Ah, Um, Er, Eh

WORDS : Like, So, OK, But, Basically

PHRASES : You Know,  I Mean, At the end of the Day

REPETITION : The The

This link provides a grounder for different types of fillers used : https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-filler-words/

Filler words therefore can either be the result of a natural part of our speech or it can be the result of a speech impairment.  Speech impairments like stuttering should be viewed separately from filler words.  Another word for filler words is speech disfluency.  Now think of speech disfluency and how challenging it is to design for natural speech for natural language programming in computers :

If a speaker is self-conscious in public they may exhibit a lack of confidence because of that self-consciousness.  In the case of filler words – sometimes an undue focus on fillers may add to self-conscious pressure and the net result may actually serve to make speech disfluency worse - or at least there is a better way to relax and gain command of speech.

Three ways of combating speech disfluency  are

PREPARATION

PAUSE

PACE

The easiest way to get rid of filler words is to read from a teleprompter.  Even speakers that are considered great do utilize filler words as the following article refers to filler words used by people like President Obama :

https://qz.com/740602/cant-quit-saying-um-and-ah-just-learn-how-to-use-them-better/ 

As grammarians evaluate a speech for grammar and filler words, other than that this is still a singular point of view, obtaining a more balanced perspective may be achieved in a group situation if we adopt a "community of practice".  How communities of practice forms a part of learning practice is detailed in the following video by Dr Etienne Wenger :

There are two forms of learning.  A vast majority operate on a goal orientation basis, whereas I operate on learning emergence which is simply experimenting and exploring rather than deliberate or set milestone or smart goal objectives. 

Whatever our approach, there is a psychological basis to how we speak or present and understanding our grammar use is not simply a multiplication of our word vocabulary, but getting in touch with our own inner fears and thus begin to meditate on the internal chemistry in our bodies that is triggered by our thoughts and actions.  The greatest infliction we have may not be what we think we fear but if we go to the extreme direction that seeks us to be perfectionists.  We may think we have reached the mountain top by mastering absolutely perfect speech, but I would rather sound human than sound like a speech robot.  That is why I don't take much stock in how traditionally speech World Champions have delivered their talks.  That is a kind of perfection that I am not interested in, though it maybe a a goal or outcome that another person desires.  This world has enough psychological forces acting upon us, without making ourselves an additional source of self-judgement.  Enjoyment and passion carry much weight here and ultimately it is whatever brings us into personal life flow that counts and not simply what others applaud or like the grammar police intently focus on.

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