You probably weren't considered a very fluent speaker of that language at that point. Fluent speech has at least three dimensions or components that converge to give listeners the impression of fluency. First, fluent speech is continuous or smooth . It flows along without hesitation or without stopping unexpectedly. Fluent speakers seem to utter long messages with ease and grace.
Various behaviors can disrupt the smooth flow of a message.
These behaviors also constitute what we call dysfluencies in speech. When fluency is disrupted by any of these behaviors, the flow of information or the flow of the message stops, not necessarily the flow of speech. When the flow of a message gets interrupted and that message does not come out at an expected rate, we may perceive that person's speech as dysfluent. This brings us to the second dimension of fluency, rate . We have been socialized to expect information to flow at a certain rate and we have an intuitive sense of what that rate is.