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Is anyone here a stutterer who has had to overcome public speaking engagements and embarassing interviews?
Fish3715 said:Great thread idea!
I have a stuttering problem/speech impairment (many people think I have an accent, too- usually British). It's not as bad as it was growing up, but it is still an issue (e.g. not being able to order what you want from restaurants because you can't pronounce it OR struggling to say the usual thing you order, which probably makes the cashier wonder what's wrong with you everyday). I would like to hear what others have to say about overcoming this.
UCIgrad2002 said:my speech therapist used to tell me to imagine the letters as rubberbands, and the goal was to stretch that rubberband, as long as you want, until the sound comes out. i practiced this for quite some time and it totally helped out my stuttering problem. for me, the consenants is where i got stuck at, not the vowels. so by stretching out the letter and speaking slowly, i never got stuck. after time, the technique gets easier and doesn't sound like you're trying to fix something, it sounds pretty natural. well thats my 2 cents on overcoming stuttering.
Well, I'm gonna lay it all out here. I am dyslexic and have a speech problem. I have a very hard time communicating my point by speech. I can write very well and can run with the best of them. It is just when it comes down to speaking and explaining something, I have a disjointed thought process which makes things difficult for me. I've never sought any help for it, kind of brushed it off actually. During an interview, a couple times I had a hard time explaining something to my interviewer. I hope it didnt hurt me much but we did leave on more than good terms. I also have a very short term memory. I find it hard to remember things soon after it is said at times. I think its due to being sleep deprived. I dont know if this is a good place to share this, but oh well.
kingcer0x said:i'm sorry, its called the speech easy:
www.speecheasy.com
Anyone have any experience with or know if it works? I don't stutter personally but I have tried it just to see how comfortable and audible the delay was. I hear it is quite expensive as well.
oompa loompa said:Oh, and I'm finding that when I have to speak on the spot, I end up groping for the right words, and the sentences come out so slowly....I hate it. I'm fine making generic conversation, but whenever I actually have to contribute something of consequence--even if it's to talk about myself and my interests--my tongue gets tied up. I have immediate flashes of an IDEA of what I want to express, but actually finding the words has always been so difficult...like doing mental long division in my head.
Jon Davis said:Eventually I get it right, but it is at the expense of my perceived intellectual abilities. Its tough to say, but it is common that if one speaks well they are considered intelligent while those who can't are considered not-so. I've done testing to evaluate my intelligence, and I have done very well on those tests. But I digress, people don't walk around with their IQ written on their foreheads.
I've got a little bit of a stammer sometimes, but usually it's more of an inability to get out the word I'm trying to say. It just feels like there's a dam keeping me from saying what I want, especially when I know exactly what I want to say (like if you're waiting to ask a question and know how you're going to ask it). It usually helps me to either find a word that starts on a different letter (I think vowels usually trip me up), or to ease off the gas pedal, so to speak, and take a breath before trying again.
I totally agree that slowing down to your authentic pace really helps. I'm also all for taking frequent deep breaths between words. These two things generally help a lot when I am speaking and feel myself beginning to stutter or stammer. I used to get way ahead of myself, and the result was a glitch in my ability to communicate verbally. Since slowing down my pace, I experience a great ease in my speaking. I very rarely have any trouble these days. Good suggestions to employ in any situation, particularly in stressful ones.
Yes, I have had the same problem groping for words. When explaining something, I sometimes use poor words because they don't "come to me" readily. So I end up using a word that might totally confuse the other person when I try to explain something. Then I end up correcting my error with another slightly better but still crappy word. Eventually I get it right, but it is at the expense of my perceived intellectual abilities. Its tough to say, but it is common that if one speaks well they are considered intelligent while those who can't are considered not-so. I've done testing to evaluate my intelligence, and I have done very well on those tests. But I digress, people don't walk around with their IQ written on their foreheads.
I totally agree that slowing down to your authentic pace really helps. I'm also all for taking frequent deep breaths between words. These two things generally help a lot when I am speaking and feel myself beginning to stutter or stammer. I used to get way ahead of myself, and the result was a glitch in my ability to communicate verbally. Since slowing down my pace, I experience a great ease in my speaking. I very rarely have any trouble these days. Good suggestions to employ in any situation, particularly in stressful ones.
<<taking notes>> Hey spiced, I didn't really understand your last post though (above my post). Can you elaborate please? This stuttering business is driving me crazy. Thanks
can you say ******! dee da dee!
sorry i dont speak ******. but i see that you are fluent.
ps. check out how ugly xpathos is.....can you say fat bastard!
http://www.camxcam.net/meeting/profile.asp?xpathos
uhhm. i was already REPORTED you idiot! it will take a while ahha.
giving medical advice is violating the terms of service. whose the idiot NOW.
REPORTED!
sorry. nice try though! you obviuously havent read the TOS. so i guess we will both be banned! *****!
My tongue gets tied quite easily. I haven't figured out what causes it. I've been fine with or without stress, and then I've experienced the tongue tied syndrome with and without stress. When the word pops out, it'll be a combination of two or maybe three words.
I also have this problem. For some reason when I need it most, my vocabulary goes right out the window. I'll be jabbering along and for whatever reason, I can't think of the word I need. It'll be a word I use all of the time and nothing that's off the wall or anything. It's like...synapse error. It happens more often than occasionally.
I worry about it in interviews.
"Yes, when I was....um...uh...hang on...I'll think of it...starts with a 'y'..."