>*"Is there a term for these things that we do to try and force the words out better?"* Yeah, SLPs often call those *secondary behaviors* or sometimes *negative coping strategies*—like tensing the speech muscles to force through a block. They usually refer to the unhelpful behaviors. but some researchers use terms like *conscious effort*, *conscious control*, or *compensatory strategies*. Personally, I much prefer those.. they don't just refer to the negative behaviors but also to the ones we *think* are helpful, like trying to calm down, reduce fear, or ease into a word more gently. though honestly, I try not to use any kind of conscious effort or control. I’d rather just replace conscious effort with *instructing speech execution* directly instead to kick-start the automatic processes required for fluent speech production