Well I hope other people share their thoughts and this isn't the only conversation. You're question is a good one, how the hell do any of us meet people and make friends when we can barely get out a sentence. For me, i'm pretty good at picking my timing when choosing to talk around new people. No one stutterers 100% of the time, and we can usually tell when words are going to be easier or harder. I tend to have an easier time when I speak on the fly, so thats when I make most of my comments when im in a group of people or at a party. Plus I think i'm pretty good at nonverbal communication and i think people get a good "vibe" from me. So once people get a feel for me and think "ShutupPussy, that guy's alright". And the more I chime in, the more they get to know me and my jokes and it's all good. then I get more comfortable and usually have an easier time talking the next time we meet. I still struggle a lot in one on one conversation and telling stories, but by the time I feel comfortable enough to do that i'm past the judgment phase and they already accept me, so waiting an extra 10 or 20 seconds every so often isn't a big deal. Nowadays though I just speak when I feel like it and don't if I dont want to bother. i'm comfortable talking and stuttering in front of a new person, but not enough to tell a long first right at the start. but overall, I think you're doing the thing every one of us does and blow things up bigger than they are. Unless you're in a room of quick roasting stand up comics, not as many moments as you think depend on being spontaneous. I often go to make quick quips that come up slow and predictable due to how long it takes, but my friend isn't thinking, wow he really missed his window, he's thinking how to get back at my insult or compliment my joke. But the entire point is he's interested in what I have to say, not how long it takes me to say it. That's why he's friends with me and likes hanging out with me. If you ask people if they'd rather talk with an interesting stutterer or a mundane fluent person, most people worth their while choose the former. And if im having a really bad speech day and dont want to deal with it today, i'll listen more than I talk. In my experience, we are way, WAY more critical of stuttering and how it sounds and all that than the people we're talking to. No matter how much we convince ourselves, they generally don't care that much.