commentr/StutterOctober 13, 2016

Content

Just forewarning you, this is going to be long. When I was a college freshman in my second semester I had to do a speech in every person's (especial a PWS) most feared class, Public Speaking. I set up a meeting with my professor after the speech was assigned and took my time explaining to him about my stutter. He actually encouraged me to talk about my stutter for the speech. It was supposed to be about something we were very passionate about (i.e. photography, gun control, less homework, etc.) and so it actually made sense. Though as many People Who Stutter know, saying the actual word "stutter" is difficult itself. After finishing my speech I worked with my professor on the presentation of it. It was timed to five minutes and so he agreed to not grade me for the timing (he was one of my favorite professors for this alone) and so on. On presentation day I envisioned myself in front of the class while in my car with my note cards in front of me. I had never known this could happen but while alone I stuttered horribly. Crazy I know. No one stutters alone but that day I did. I gave my speech and though it wasn't a great speech when I spoke just about 3 or so students from my class stopped to talk to me about it after class. They were very impressed by my speech and admitted they never thought about talking about such a personal topic of their own in front of a big class. I became good friends with those people though we have each moved apart since they really have helped me through those tough times I am grateful. Speaking in front of a group of people or even go just one person is terrifying just know that as hard as it may be for you, just tell people about your stutter. You don't need to go in great depth about the history of it and your hardships of living with it, etc. like I did but if you tell people you stutter that alone can help you feel more confident about yourself and your stutter. Don't be afraid to speak up about it and present your presentation like it is the word of God. What you say is important and don't let you stutter change you from the person you want to be. Good luck on the presentation and let us know how it goes.

Themes

Community & SupportSchool & WorkSocial & Relationships

Subthemes

Personal StoriesPublic SpeakingDisclosure & Telling Others