Explain to them how communication breaks down when someone stutters. Eye contact is lost. The person hearing has an emotional reaction – pity, mocking, empathy, whatever. They feel something. They know that communication has been broken. For the one stuttering, it’s much worse. Shame, humiliation, train of thought — it’s all lost. Getting back to where the conversation was before the block is challenging also, and so again, communication suffers. Tell them stuttering is insidious, which is a word you may not know, but you can look up. It’s secret, and destructive. No one knows you stutter until you do it. Then once you do it, the whole situation can change. Basic human communication is something we all need, and for those who stutter, it is mostly denied to them. The mental toll that it takes, and the pain that it leaves in the psyche are different for everyone, but those who speak fluently cannot begin to understand it. People say, “You take your health for granted“. And what I say to those who are fluent is “You take talking for granted. You take human communication for granted.” Presentations in school started badly for me around eighth or ninth grade. By the time I was a senior in college, they were unbearable. But I did them. I would not let this thing beat me. I went up there, made a mess of myself, and sat back down. Some of the students my senior year approached me later, and told me that they thought I was brave. I appreciated that.