I joined the Air Force when I was 20. Logistics Management was my career field which consists of A LOT of talking and briefings. Go figure. Within my first month I had to give a training to two people. I let my coworkers know that this will not go well and I will stutter out of this universe. I was made fun of and picked on a lot growing up so I had a lot of that trauma still. I still assume everyone will laugh at me or make fun of me. Anywho, the training was absolutely terrible as I expected. From that point forward they allowed me not to give briefing’s or trainings. I still talked to people over the phone and helped out people that came to our office. Over time I felt more comfort and started training people. Being in a career field that requires talking and face to face interaction helped a lot. Fast forward 7 years later I was working in a high visibility area with a lot of high ranking people. One day I had to cover for someone at a brief. He told me I wouldn’t have to brief anything. Well the people wanted me to brief and it was group of like 30 high ranking people. I walked up to the podium and I said fuck it. It went well! I surprised myself. From that point on my view changed. I started to excel at a rapid pace in my career. I started holding briefings and talking to everyone. Now is my stutter gone, absolutely not but I’m able to calm my nerves a little. Now I’m retired from the military and I’m living my best life. I currently work for the Air Force as a civilian Security Specialist. Another career field that deals with a lot of interaction and talking. Interview process is terrifying and I sometimes stutter a lot but they understood. Federal government doesn’t hold your speech against you.