Should Speech Be Viewed As A Skill To Be Built?
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Should Speech Be Viewed As A Skill To Be Built? Here's a question I've been thinking about for a long time. I've stuttered ever since I was a kid. I think my stuttering is largely anxiety/confidence related. It's always there but sometimes its not so bad. I can do voice impressions well. I often practice on my own with my recorder at the park. When I know that I'm in a safe space and no one can hear me talk except for me......I can easily talk. I still stutter but its more manageable. But when I know other people can hear me, something happens. It's a bit like bladder shyness. Anyways, here's my question: Should we view speech (or the art of talking) as a skill that can be built up or is it something that is inherent? Is it something that is genetic? Like a lot of people would say that your genetics decide if you're an extrovert or an introvert..........that's a not a skill that can be built up. People are born that way.....or at least become that way by age 3. So does speech work the same way? Someone who is very social and fluid in their talking..........are they naturally like that or did they build it up? Whenever I hear other people talk to other people with such fluidity and ease, I feel jealous. I just wish I could do that. But sometimes I feel like I cannot even have that level of fluidity with my audio recorder (Even if I don't stutter). I sometimes pretend that my audio recorder is a journal (or another person) who I'm talking to and expressing my feelings to. And I try to sound as enthusiastic as possible when talking to it. But when I hear my own recording..........it just doesn't sound like how everyone else talks. It sounds very broken, full of doubt, slow, unenergetic, and just.............dull. Like there's little to no emotion in it. And it sounds like this even if there's no stuttering. I don't know what my deal is. Am I just born this way? Could it be a mild form of Asperger's or something? Most people have the natural ability to mingle with other people and be fun right? Or should I practice speech more and work on sounding more fun and fluid? Are other people just more adept at speech than I am and is that why I sound like this? Have they just had more practice than me? Does it even work this way!? Is this a practice based skill?