A little joke upfront can help break the ice and reduce awkwardness, you know like "I stutter but it won't take to much extra time hahaha," or something like that can help break the ice for the other person and put them at ease. I do something similar where I know I will stutter so I substitute words, but other times I know the stuttering is coming and just go with it. I'm really skeptical about speech therapy. I'm an adult and I seriously doubt my insurance will cover it, but I do want to give it another go.