commentr/StutterJuly 12, 2024

Content

Phone calls! Practicing alone at home does nothing for me because I’m actually an incredible speaker alone lol. I’m a gifted speaker in general (can you imagine how much of a curse stuttering has been for me?) and I never stutter alone. So what I do is pick a word/sound I’m struggling with. Let’s pretend it’s the “s” sound. I’ll go through every Starbucks in my area and call them to ask “what cinnamon drinks do you have on the menu?” If you get stuck and stutter disastrously for half a minute? Who cares, it’s just a random Starbucks. You hang up, collects yourself, call another and try again. I have learned and developed certain tricks/breathing/techniques to help with certain sounds but it can be difficult to apply those in real life conversation. So I’ll focus on one sound and practice incorporating that technique over and over again on the phone. Feeling bolder? Go to the mall and do the same thing. Pick a store name you’re struggling with and politely make conversations with strangers and ask “hey do you know where Urban Outfitters is?” If you get stuck and stutter like crazy and get weird looks, just disclose. “Hey I’m sorry, I’m a stutterer and I’m trying to practice my speaking skills here in the mall by asking for directions.” Most people are really nice about it! And if they’re not, who cares? They’re strangers. Short answer, in my opinion, stuttering practice requires real world experience. There’s no way to recreate outside circumstances at home. Just my two cents!

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceCoping & AdvocacySocial & Relationships

Subthemes

Avoidance & SubstitutionVoluntary Stuttering & ExposureDisclosure & Telling Others

Codes (2)

ordering_service_encountersocializing_group_size