Non-fluencies in

Communication
MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION

IIM Kozhikode

WHAT

What is Non-fluency
Disruption

in the fluency of verbal expression

Involuntary
Occur

repetitions or prolongations

frequently and not readily controllable

INTRODUCTION

Why Improve??

English Non-fluencies
Non-fluencies in English
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

so

and

(pause)

like

you know I mean

uh

aa

Count of people using the non-fluency

ok

basically

umm

(repeat) that was

ya

Count of people aware

'So' and 'and' are the most commonly used non-fluencies, followed by 'like', 'you know' and 'I mean.

Hindi Non-fluencies
Non-fluencies in Hindi
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

uh

(pause) matlab

aur

toh

haan thik hai

oye

hai na

bhai (slang)

Count of people using the non-fluency

ki

phir

accha samjha

par

phir bhi

Count of people aware

Voiced pauses such as 'uh' were more common in Hindi.

'Matlab' and 'aur' were the most commonly used non-fluencies.

Non-fluencies by Region
English Non-fluencies by Region
81.5
71

Average count of Non-fluencies

Hindi Non-fluencies by Region

43
57.5
20.2

East

North

South

West

48
Average count of Non-fluencies

25.5
18.6

East

North

South

West

West and South regions have the least number of non-fluencies in both languages

Non-fluencies by Gender
Hindi Non-fluencies by Gender

English Non-fluencies by Gender

36%
41%
59%
64%

Males

Females

Large proportion of males were from South

Indian regions and not very familiar with
Hindi.

Males

Females

Defies general perception that females are

more fluent.
Limitations due to small sample of females.

Non-fluencies by Comfort Level

Non-fluencies by Comfort Level
7
6
5
4
average number of non-fluencies

3
2
1
0

Moderate

High

Low

Comfort Level

Low comfort level individuals may not be very conscious.

Limitations due to small sample size makes it difficult to generalize.

Literature Review
General
Perception
2004
2002
1968
1959

Scope and Limitations

Age Group 21-26
First year students at IIM
Kozhikode
Language scope - English and
Hindi
Sample size - 25
Environmental limitation
Type of non-fluencies under
study Pauses, Repetitions,
Voiced pauses, Fillers

Reference

https://books.google.co.in/books?
id=JArlCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA354&lpg=PA354&dq=definition+of+non
fluencies&source=bl&ots=W6wqIrcIGQ&sig=E4WD8saQr3iOSneb
9shPrxJW7zw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBTgKahUKEwjevOq
cm_rHAhVQWY4KHXpWBFQ#v=onepage&q=definition%20of
%20nonfluencies&f=false