How to tell people that you stutter

by | Mar 7, 2021 | Comics

A three-panel comic strip. First panel, a male cartoon fox is stuttering his name as he introduced himself to a female fox. "Hi, my name is Franky Banky and I stutter. Sometimes I need a little extra time to say what I need to say."

The First Thing’s First Method

I started telling people the minute I introduced myself once I got into the habit of disclosing.

The Popup Method. Franky Banky is at the water cooler talking to a female. He is saying "Welcome once again to the team, Alice. You will find that everyone is very nice and c... c... c... c... I stutter when I speak. Anyway, we are also a social munch".

The Pop up Method

I found this method worked for me more effectively than the First Thing’s First Method since my stuttering has become moderate in recent years. “I didn’t even noticed you stuttered!” was the response I’d get. So I decided to wait until a stutter popped up (which didn’t take very long!).

A three-panel comic strip entitled The Casual Mention Method. Franky is at the watercooler once again talking to a female co-worker. She asks, "How was your weekend?". Franky Banky stutters his reply, "I attended a conference downtown." The female asks "What was the conference about?". Franky Banky stutters his reply "St. St. St. St. Stuttering".

The Casual Mention Method

Getting involved in the stuttering community can help bring up the topic of stuttering.

A three-panel comic strip entitled, The Educate Method. Franky Banky his on the phone and stuttering. "Huh huh uh hello I'm c". Meanwhile, the person on the other end is asking "Hello? Hello?" To which Franky Banky replies, "I'm still here". The final panel shows him standing on top of a ladder with floodwaters around him. "I speak with a stutter", Franky Banky Domingues. "Anyway, I'm calling about your faulty toilet".

The Educate Method

Sometimes the people we are talking to just don’t know what stuttering is. Or, in the case of this comic strip, if there is something wrong with the phone call. Another benefit for spreading awareness.

Three panel comic strip entitled The Enlighten Method. Franky Banky is waiting at the bus stop when a man comes up and ask him for the time. The man has a really funny puzzled look on his face in the second panel as Franky Banky stutters his reply. The man's face turns red and he apologizes in the this panel after Franky Banky replies "I stutter".

The Enlighten Method

Similar to the Educate Method but more fun.

A three-panel comic strip entitled, The Genetics Method. Franky Banky is playing ball with a little kid who asks him "Why do you talk like that?". In the second panel, Franky Banky stutters his answer, "It' show I talk. Just like how some people have brown hair, others blue, black, or red." The little kid smiles and says "oh!". They continue playing in the third panel. Kids are very accepting.

The Genetics Method

I used to be terrified of stuttering in front of little kids. Until I learned this trick about using hair colour as a way to explain stuttering.

A three-panel comic strip entitled, The Comedy Method. A female fox is speaking at a podium. "And now our next speaker, Franky Banky!", she announces. In the second panel, Franky Banky is at the podium stuttering "Th Thank you! F Fortunately, my speech will be short". He continues in the third panel. "However, since I st st st stutter, we won't really be save save saving much time anyway."

The Comedy Method

Humour is a great way to connect with people. It puts both you and the people you are speaking with at ease.

A three-panel comic strip entitled, The Timer Method. Franky Banky is participating in a business idea pitch contest. Someone calls out “Next!”. Someone calls out “Next!”. In the next panel, Franky is stuttering to the panel of judges, “They sss sss say it t… t… t takes ab.. b… bout sss… seven sss. Sss. Seconds to may may make a fur fur first imp… p… impression”. In the third panel, he smiles and says “And I just st… st… stuttered for all of them!”

The Timer Method

A true story! My friend, Gareth Walkom, was pitching his start up to an accelerator and started his business pitch with “They say it takes about 7 seconds to make a first impression… And I just stuttered for all of them”. What a great way to break the ice, mention your stuttering, and use a little humour in what can be quite a stressful situation regardless of your speech. And Gareth’s pitch ended up being among the 65 to 70 winners out of over 300 applicants! Read Gareth’s story of that fateful day.

A two panel comic strip entitled Telling people that you stutter: The keep calm and carry on method. In the first panel, Franky Banky is lecturing at a university. He is stuttering Weh web welcome to th the the um um um the fur first day of um class. In the second panel, Franky Banky continues by smiling “I st st stutter. Don’t panic”.

The Keep Calm and Carry On Method

Another true story! My friend, Grant Meredith, is a lectuerer at Federation University in Australia and came up with this fun way to mention his stuttering on the first day of classes. Grant was also voted Lecturer of the Year by the students multiple times!

Author’s commentary

Telling people that you stutter can seem to be a scary concept. That was the same for me. However, once I started telling people, I realized that most people I talked to were ok with my stuttering.

And once I knew that they knew that I stuttered, we were both at ease. And when they know that we are ok with our stuttering, they knew they could be ok with it as well. Many people don’t know what stuttering is so they learn from us how to react to it.

Telling people that we stutter usually also sparks a conversation about someone they know who stutters and stuttering in general. It’s a great way to spread awareness!

I always wanted to create more how-to lists since publishing my book, Stuttering is Cool: A Guide to Stuttering in a Fast-Talking World. So this was a fun series to share various techniques which worked for me. I also added a few from others.

More comics to come!

In the meantime, what worked for you? Let me know and it may become a Franky Banky comic on this page!

March 7, 2021

Daniele Rossi's artistic signature
An illustration of the author standing next to a pile of sketchbooks. Franky Banky is sitting on top reading one of the books. Ti-Ger is sneaking around the bottom.
Book cover with an illustration of Franky Banky talking on the phone

More Franky Banky in
Stuttering is Cool: A Guide to Stuttering in a Fast-Talking World!

Tips and comics about reducing fears towards stuttering in everyday situations such as job interviews, dating, and more! Learn more on the Stuttering is Cool website.

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