A King’s Speech

Author’s commentary

I have been itching to create a parody of the movie, The King’s Speech, for a long time. I really like how this parody fit well with the Ti-Ger Analogy of Stuttering. In fact, if I were to include an alternate title for this comic, I’d make it a quote by my friend and fellow stutterer, Mitch Trichon, who said “Much of stuttering is the way that you think about it”.

Ever notice how 99% of the people in our lives don’t care that we stutter yet we worry that we speak with imperfect speech? Ti-Ger grows and shrinks in proportion to Franky Banky’s perception towards his stuttering in every speaking situation (Hm, that can be an interesting character trait I can make for Ti-Ger in all comics going forward. Kind of like a super power but in reverse.). We all do this. We worry about what the other person(s) may be thinking, society expects perfection, and nobody likes to feel embarrassed or awkward. It’s human.

For me, understanding that stuttering was just something I do and that I am still capable of communicating what I need to say helped shrink my ti-ger down to a more manageable and useful size. Useful meaning the benefits of being able to say what I want to say without trying to switch words or avoid speaking altogether.

That and taking regular steps out of my comfort zone in stuttering openly. Sooner than you think, all those scary speaking situations will cease being scary.

If I can do it, you can do it, too!

September 19, 2020