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Words Fail Us
Book

Words Fail Us

In Defence of Disfluency

Jonty Claypole
Wellcome Collection, 2021

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Eye Opening
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Have you ever listened to a TED Talk and been blown away by the speaker’s polished eloquence and flawless delivery? Society lauds such hyperfluency. So if everyday conversations trip you up, leave you struggling for words and earn you pitying glances, you may feel self-conscious and humiliated. This is the reality for most people living with a speech disorder, according to Jonty Claypole, former director of BBC Arts. Claypole has stuttered all his life, but he embraces his impediment. He advocates the power of disfluency and calls for society to broaden its definition of good communication.

Take-Aways

  • “Fluency” and “good communication” are not synonymous.
  • All speech disorders impede those afflicted from communicating the words they want to express.
  • Speech disorders can have a profound psychological and behavioral impact on individuals.

About the Author

Jonty Claypole, a former director of BBC Arts, is the chairman of HOME, a Manchester-based arts center. The Bookseller listed Claypole among its top 100 most influential people in 2020.

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