commentr/StutterOctober 28, 2016

Content

I empathize with your situation, I have had lots of presentations in college and at work and I've had many job interviews. The worst thing you can do is be unprepared, you should have a rap memorized and you should be able to recite it without thinking. It sounds like you did that but you also have to stay 100% focused on what you're saying. Listen to yourself as you speak. Focus on the words you're saying. I think what causes stuttering for me is my mind goes one way and my mouth goes the other way... so for example I'll be tying to answer a question about what my biggest weakness is and at the same time I'll be thinking about possible alternative answers,about the interviewer's facial expressions,about stuttering,about how nervous i am,etc... and that's what causes me to block. I have this technique i call "liquid mind" it's hard to explain but basically you need to shut off all parts of your brain unrelated to speaking. It's weird i can feel a physical shift in my head (probably psychosomatic) like right in my forehead and it feels almost like my eyes go crossed lol BUT I'm able to speak fluently when i do it. When I'm in that mode i don't see the person I'm speaking to, I look straight through them and I'm only listening to myself speak. I've used this for years I've had group mates in college come up to me after a presentation and say "who tf was that??" "what happened to your stutter?". Can anyone back me up on this? I've wanted to ask other stutterers about it for a while. I swear i feel a shift in my head like I'm flexing a muscle and it turns off unnecessary functions and I'm able to speak fluently. Not great in social situations, but for public speaking and interviews it's been my go to technique.

Themes

Anticipation & AvoidanceEmotional ExperienceSchool & Work

Subthemes

Overthinking & MonitoringAnxiety & Social JudgmentSchool & Academic LifeEmployment & Career