i am a college professor with a mild stutter. i have stuttered for as long as i can remember and it has always been a source of shame for me. i never sought professional help for my stutter, which i regret, but i have developed techniques and strategies to best cope with this disability. the first thing has been to own and acknowledge this disability. when i was younger i would just try to hide my stutter by not speaking. i don't have that option anymore given that public speaking is basically a key part of my livelihood. now i will start the first day of the semester by informing students that i have a speech impediment that may make comprehension difficult from time to time, and that they should ask me to repeat myself if that is the case. most of my faculty colleagues also know that i stutter because i've informed them personally or in a group setting. i think the key thing is to recognize that having a disability, speech related or otherwise, does not make you lesser of a person. this can be difficult to come to terms with as a child and adolescent if people tease you for your stutter. but as an adult i've found that most people, at least publicly, will make an effort to be accommodating. second, i refer to stuttering as a disability because it makes difficult many day-to-day activities that non-stutterers would have little to no difficulty completing. i have colleagues who can lecture off the cuff and not break a sweat. it just comes naturally to them. it is very difficult for me to do this without stuttering because my main two triggers are anxiety and alliterations/repetitions (two similar sounds appearing back to back). so when i can, i will spend time rehearsing as much of the lecture in advance as possible (sometimes even every single word), doing vocal exercises on the drive to work, and doing breathing exercises prior to lecture. i've found that all of this has helped dramatically boost my confidence in lecturing and decrease the instances of stuttering during class. is it a lot of work? absolutely. but i love my job and am willing to put in the work if it makes me a better professor.