commentr/StutterApril 21, 2022

Content

There are many many tricks one can try and see if they help you. Here they are in no particular order: 1. Close your mouth, and intentionally keep your teeth clenched. Not with biting pressure, but just touching. Let some air out but do not unclench your teeth and instead, try to get the word(s) out through your teeth. That one works for me and as soon as I'm about 3 words past the block, I can unclench my teeth to normal. This is obvs a hack, and not a fix, but I find I have almost no blocks when speaking thru my teeth. Give it a try by yourself to see how it feels. It removes the sensation of any blocks coming. 2. If you sense you might block, try to alter the tone, style, accent or pitch of your voice slightly. Almost like you are doing an impression of someone else but such a bad job at it, only you would know you changed your voice a bit. But that can make all the difference if you're thinking of a celebrity doing your speaking for you at that moment. 3. Try adding an "H" to the beginning of words you feel you might block on or are blocking on. Such as " Where are you going?" becomes " HuuhWhere Hhare Hugh Hoing ? " I find that if I can just get air moving alone first, without thinking of a sound or tone, I can morph from the airy sound of the H info the actual word. And ppl just assume you took an off beat breath. 4. Tap the rhythm of the words you say, as you say them, in a discreet way, such as a finger on your leg or your toe or a pen on a desk. Imagine you were doing Morse code in real time but just give each syllable it's own single tap. This sentence would feel like this: Tap tap-tap tap tap, tap Tap. That can help Link your fluency to motor skills rather than a langue processing. I have more but give those a shot first and report back. All or none may work. These are also only crutches and emergency cloaking devices for those times you just don't have the time or energy to explain yourself or feel like dealing with the potential awkward moment. But nothing is a replacement for more beneficial practice methods and simply not giving a F*ck what ppl think and take all the time in the world you need to be you and say your thought how you want to say it. We are our own worst critics and other ppl are often much more forgiving than we think. Good luck! Cheers

Themes

Coping & AdvocacyAnticipation & AvoidanceCauses & Variability

Subthemes

Fluency TechniquesAvoidance & SubstitutionEnvironmental Triggers