Being honest about it helps (with yourself and with others). It really reduces the pressure to be fluent. I stutter and I'm a writer and a manager. I'm doing pretty well for myself. I think being unable to speak well in my childhood and teenage years helped me become a better writer. I couldn't communicate well speaking so I learned to write better, and my teachers noticed. When it came to public speaking, I always rehearsed like crazy and always volunteered to go first (because the longer I waited, the more anxiety I'd get and thus the more speak blocks I'd encounter). In jr high I got some speech therapy and learned some skills to cope with my blocking (pretty much relaxing my face and neck). I tried not to shy away from opportunities to speak as I got into my college years. I went to a big school - no one would remember if I stuttered. So I used that anonymity to my advantage and started talking all the time. My confidence grew and so did my fluency. I'm still a hot mess on the phone at work. I let my boss know if I'm bumbling and stuttering, it's not because I don't know what I'm talking about - I just can't get my words out. I also learned just to not care about what other people think. Easier said than done - I know. But now in my 30s, I just own it. I'm good at my job, a good friend, a good wife, a good mom. Why does how I speak matter as long as I'm not an a-hole? If people can't see me past that, I don't want to know them, and I certainly could care less what they think of me. And I'll tell my kid with his speech impediment (not a stutter) to try to see the world the same way.