postr/StutterDecember 1, 2025

Anyone else with a stutter anxious about moving into leadership roles?

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Content

Anyone else with a stutter anxious about moving into leadership roles? Hey everyone, I’ve had a mild to severe stutter for as long as I can remember. Even with that, I’ve been working in the corporate world for about 7 years now. My friends and family are super chill about it, and at work people are understanding too. I’m not fluent, I have quite a few blocks while speaking, but most of the time things are fine and people don’t make a big deal out of it. I do have to give presentations once in a while, and they’re not exactly smooth. I block a lot, but no one says anything or treats me differently. It’s stressful sometimes, but I try not to let it get to me. Recently though, I realised I might be expected to do more than just coding and the occasional presentation. There’s talk about me possibly leading a team or taking on a role where I’d need to communicate more and that’s starting to really scare me. I’m okay being a mid-level engineer, but the thought of being a manager or someone people look up to honestly freaks me out. Has anyone here gone through something similar, especially if you had a stutter or struggled with speaking anxiety? How did you handle it when your role started involving more communication or leadership work? TL;DR: I have a severe stutter, have been working for 7 years and things have been okay, but now I might need to take on a leadership role and it’s making me really anxious. Looking for advice or experiences from others who’ve been through this.

Themes

Emotional ExperienceSchool & WorkAnticipation & AvoidanceSpeech & Stuttering

Subthemes

Anxiety & Social JudgmentEmployment & CareerAnticipating StutteringPhysical TensionFrustration & Anger