I definitely wouldn't lie about it. Honesty seems the most healthy. Anyways... could you not have just stated your condition? Would that not have given you a pass of some sort? As for avoidance, some years back I tried to set myself up as gamemaster in my roleplaying group. The closer we got to the starting date, the worse I felt about it. So I explained this, and bowed out. Some years later, I started working towards it again, and I've now succesfully carried out the entry into gamemastering (in two groups). I still stutter, but it works regardless. I think the point I'm trying to make is that you may not be ready for something _now_... but you may be _later_. A loss can be outweighed by a win. Also, I've seen people try and fail speaking situations who _didn't even stutter_. Don't think that just because you stutter you will necessarily fail worse than everyone. You'll fail just a little bit, perhaps, but that doesn't matter, because perfection isn't a tenable goal anyway. So you won't fail at all, so to say. :)