It's your first job interview, or first day of school, and you're eager to get the hell out of it. This is a common feeling, however for the millions of people around the world who stutter, the first day of school or the day of a job interview is particularly difficult. There is no known cure for stuttering, but there are many ways to reduce its effects. Follow these steps to control stuttering.
Steps
Step 1. Try to understand what stuttering is
Stuttering is a fairly common language disorder. The statistical prevalence rate is estimated to be close to 1% of the population, considering the recoveries that occur in preschool age. When a person stutters, he can stop completely, or repeat syllables and words. When a person gets stuck, the vocal cords are under great strain, and one is unable to speak until they are relaxed.
Step 2. Don't be ashamed
Stuttering can affect every aspect of a person's life, from work to social relationships. It is important to try to have a positive attitude towards your stutter and not to worry too much about what others think. When you get dominated by stuttering, it will get worse and worse. It is very important not to avoid situations where you can stammer, even if you may be tempted to do so.
Step 3. Practice speaking in front of people you know
Relatives and friends most likely know that you stutter, so practice reading aloud. As soon as he starts stammering, he starts again, this time more slowly.
Step 4. Try to breathe normally
When you freeze on a word, your initial reaction will be to hold your breath and try to force the pronunciation of the word. This only makes stuttering worse. You need to focus on your breathing when you speak. When you get stuck or have interruptions, take a breath and try saying the word again while exhaling slightly. When you breathe, your vocal cords relax and hatch, allowing you to speak. This can be more difficult than it sounds, as you certainly know already.
Step 5. Find a local speech therapist, someone who can help you on your journey to control stuttering, but it is important to know that this is not a cure
It takes a lot of practice to use therapy techniques in the real world. If you go with the certainty of being taken care of, you will be disappointed. Be realistic with your goals. You will be able to make great improvements, but you will always stammer.
Step 6. If possible, purchase a Fluency Device, a special device that allows you to hear yourself differently and with a delay, in order to make you speak more fluently
However, these devices are very expensive. They can also be difficult to manage in noisy environments. Again, it's important to keep in mind that this is only a help, not a cure, and won't work perfectly. You can still stammer, but it is likely to do so to a lesser extent. I personally own a Speecheasy device, which I use occasionally and it greatly helps my fluency.
Advice
- Take deep breaths before speaking.
- Practice speaking every day!
- Talking into people's eyes and making sure they listen should be of great help, at least to me it is.
- Make every effort to avoid refraining from speaking. This only makes the problem worse.
- The telephone can be particularly difficult for stutterers. It is important to practice using the telephone. Open the phone book and call several numbers to practice. You can also use this trick to unblock yourself about your stuttering. Try making 10 phone calls a day and at the beginning of the call, say something like "Hi, my name is Giovanni Rossi and I stammer, so stop". Then go ahead and ask whatever question you can think of. This can go a long way in decreasing phone anxiety, and gives you practice in unblocking you from stuttering. I know you can feel stupid or embarrassed by doing this, but remember that you will most likely never see or talk to these people again. Think of this as an exercise.
- Be open about your stuttering. When you try to hide it, it causes more stress than accepting the fact that you stutter, and expressing your thoughts.
