Hey hey! I graduated from university a few years ago and have been working in a tech-adjacent sector for several years now. I recently switched companies and had the privilege of going through several interview processes. I’ve had a stutter since I was a child. Heck, I had speech therapy at 8-12 years old. Beat it ever did for me was help annunciate my ‘R’s’ and give my parents a “If we tell him to slow down he’ll become more fluency” mindset. To this day they whip out the ol’ “Hey, slow down. Take it easy” catch phrase. I was fortunate to get speech therapy as an adult roughly a year ago. Shortly after, I began searching for a new job. To say stuttering was the forefront of my mind heading into EVERY interview is an understatement. A really cool experience I had though was on my fourth round of interviews with one company. It went something like this: ————— • First interview: Met with team-lead. Did not disclose my stutter until it was evident I couldn’t get more than 2 words out without blocking. Left embarrassed, but confident in my answers. • Second Interview: Met with the CEO. Disclosed my stutter at the start of the interview. Still blocked often, but was transparent which put me slightly at ease. Left the interview feeling okay, but not great. • 3rd Interview (my favorite): Met with Co-team lead. Disclosure skipped my mind and we jumped right into the interview. I was near fluent. About 25 minutes in he asks me, “Hey. If you don’t mind me asking, I am a little confused about something. To be candid, the CEO and Team Lead informed me before we met that you have a stutter. They assured me you know your stuff and to overlook it because they don’t believe it will have any impact on your performance. I was mentally prepared for it, but got thrown for a loop when I haven’t heard anything remotely close to a stammer.”. I laughed a bit and assured him that they were telling the truth. Today just happened to be a fluent day for me (which was insanely rare for me). At the end of the interview, we thanked each other for their time and moved on with our days. • 4th interview: Met with the scheduling assistant to see if my schedule would align well with their processes. Disclosed my stutter and got through with a few blocks. ————— What I learned from the entire process is that stuttering (at least at that point) was inevitable. As well, not a single person cared that I stuttered. I was not given an offer for each place I applied, but that’s the market. Truthfully too, with how some of the interviews went I can’t blame them. Not because of the stutter, but because I struggled a LOT to be an effective communicator. Now wait one moment: That’s a key factor. “Effective Communication”. When interviewing the first few companies I was a wreck mentally and emotionally. I let my stutter consume me. If someone asked me a basic question I’d panic. Not because I don’t know the answer, but because I do. That’s our Achilles heel, is knowing how to respond, but being unable to do so. Suddenly, our focus isn’t on giving them the best answer. It’s now giving them ANY answer and doing so without stuttering. Let me ask you this and let’s assume EVERY interaction you have contains a stuttering block: If someone walked up to you right now and asked you a semi-technical question you know inside and out, how would you respond? What would be going on in your brain? Personally, I would fumble. I would answer their question, but in a rambling sort of way. I’d be SO preoccupied with not stuttering that my response would turn into word-salad at the first chance of breaking my stutter blocks. Not because I don’t know the answer, but because I do and I’m afraid my stutter will come off as if I don’t so I over-explain and fill in silence between blocks were semi-fitting words. In short, my answers were often stuttering word-salad. The red flag here isn’t the stuttering, it’s the word salad. People in a hiring position don’t want word-salad. They want to know you know your stuff. So long ramble short; interviews suck. But that’s not because of our stutter, it’s because of the pressure we put on ourselves to be fluent. There’s no cure-all for stuttering, but there is techniques to manage your mentality around it. My biggest 2024 stuttering win was destigmatizing my own stutter. I have no issue walking into an interview and giving them the old, “Hey all! Thanks for giving me eh e opportunity to speak with you. Before we begin, I do want to disclose that I have a stutter. This may come off in the form of sound repetitions or audible blocks. This has never been an issue for my clients or in my career, but if at any point you need me to repeat or re-explain something for clarity I’d be happy to do so.”. Truthfully, this phrase alone helps in such a big way. It makes you confront your stutter and own it, not feel as though you’re being held hostage and unable to escape. A lot of people with drop a quick, “Your stutter isn’t the problem, your mindset is. Fix it.” quote around here. They’re right, but the delivery can use a bit of work. As one person in the midst of their stuttering journey to another, you’ve got this. Go ahead and schedule interviews. Get comfortable with your own stutter and help others recognize that effective communication is much more than speaking without interruptions. ❤️