Author’s commentary
The always dreaded let’s-go-around-the-room-and-introduce-ourselves on every single first day of school. I remember how much my stomach would hurt more and more as each student finished introducing themselves and my turn came up. Twenty left… 10 left… 5 left… 1 left! Oh no!
If only I had known back then what I know now. Taking frequent steps out of your comfort zone and growing, well, comfortable with the idea of stuttering openly changed my life forever. Now I happily mention that I stutter if I should encounter a large stuttering volume when introducing myself (this is also especially helpful on conference calls). It puts both me and my listeners as ease. My being at ease sends the signal to my listeners that they can also be at ease with my stuttering.
This also works when you’re introducing yourself to one person. Or any other speaking situation.
Be mindful that some people may not know how to respond. Imagine someone disclosing something to you that you know nothing about. Do you respond with “Oh that’s great!”? “Ok”. “Oh that’s ok”. None of those sound like good replies. Just because they don’t know what to say doesn’t mean they are pitying you. They just don’t know what stuttering is!
I usually respond with something like “let me know if you need me to repeat anything” or “feel free to ask me any questions you may have about stuttering” when I find myself in this kind of situation
I find what really helps is smiling when I tell people I stutter. It shows confidence.
August 25, 2022