Allergies

January 8, 2024 by

Way back when in 2010, I took an allergy test. I was curious. I took the kind where you look at a list of foods, pick the ones that you usually eat more of, and then have little pricks on your back. Based on the size of the reaction, you can figure out what you’re most allergic to. What I remember the most is being allergic to … lots of things. Lots. Not only dander and pollen and trees, but also to soy. That showed the largest reaction.

I tell people this, and they ask me, well, what happens when you have soy?

I have no idea. I’ve been eating soy my entire life (indirectly, mostly – as we all know, it’s in pretty much everything). I have never had a full-blown allergic reaction to anything in my life.

I say all of this because this year I am going to try harder to eat better. I’ve been curious for a while if my allergies have anything to do with my speech. Does the soy affect how my vocal cords react? Or is it just hard wired in neurologically and that’s that? Do certain foods get me more amped up than others? I was reading through my About and FAQ pages recently on a cleanup. I talked about taking Pagoclone and feeling more relaxed. Would non-allergic foods make me feel more calm? Does it have to do with blood sugar? So many variables!

Disclaimer, of course – there’s no cure for stuttering. There’s working on Acceptance – the mental aspect. And then there’s the physical aspect – working on breathing, pacing, easy onsets. What if I can tweak more of the physical?

What’s also hard is that I spend pages and pages on this blog saying that Acceptance is the goal. Say what you want, sound however you want, and it’s fine. And it is. And I’m ok with it. But then the other half is still wanting to sound fluent, still chasing that high that follows fluent speech.

I think my excuse for this is going to be – what’s the harm? Why not treat my body a little better and see what happens. So this year I’m going to read more labels, try to avoid soy (and gluten, why not) and see what happens.

Apparently I talked about doing this in 2020 …

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Changing Plans

September 18, 2023 by

I had a chance to travel to Canada a few days back. To Quebec. Where they speak French. I studied French in high school for almost all four years (that’s another story). I don’t speak French on a daily basis. But I know enough to get by, and I really enjoyed seeing all the signs in French. I had this plan in my head that when we “went around the room” I would introduce myself in French, say that I stutter (in French!) and then a few more things. It was going to be great. And impressive. And all that. I could take my advertising attitude and put it to good use in a foreign language.

This did not happen.

Most of the time what happens with introductions is that you slowly go around the room. People are settled and focused. They are listening. It’s early in the day, and you need to know who’s there. That’s what I was used to, and I thought it would be a similar environment.

Instead, the mood was very casual, a small group of people, and a feeling that we should just say our names and titles and that’s it. The leader of the discussion did this while sitting down, so I started to feel that a long intro wasn’t in the cards. My coworkers did a similar thing, no saying a full work background or anything.

I followed suit.

In English.

I genuinely didn’t feel like I was avoiding or being covert. I kept it short, and I didn’t say anything about stuttering. I was trying to adjust to the room. I think in some ways it was good – I don’t want to get too far with advertising where I believe it’s always the answer. I want to be tuned into what the group dynamic is and how I fit in. Will I be speaking a lot (not really)?

That being said, I still felt kind of meh about the whole thing. I had things prepared! I wanted to practice. Fortunately I got my chance the next day in the break room. I was able to speak to one of the attendees in French, and he appreciated it. Another coworker overheard this and said something to me about it later in the day – prompting more French speaking. So while I didn’t necessarily speak on my own terms or schedule, it did happen. I think being open to it and finding a time that was appropriate also helped me feel more comfortable. And it was a good reminder that sometimes plans change.

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Come by, say hello

August 23, 2023 by

I’ve been a little more active on X (Twitter) lately. And I wanted to welcome those of you who are following me there. I’m there mainly to broadcast whenever I have an update on this blog. For me I tend to have longer things to say about stuttering, so I’ve found the blog is the best format.

Although I’ve said what the purpose of this blog is, I thought I’d reiterate a few things for people who are new.

I’ve had this going for several years, so there are tens of thousands of words written about what I’ve gone through with regards to stuttering. I’ve talked about my childhood, teenage years, high school, college, and working. Job changes, life changes. And there are still a lot more to come.

Mainly I’m doing this for my younger self – the stuff I would have liked to have known back when I was a kid struggling with stuttering, being covert, and not knowing what I could make out of my life. In the past year or two I’ve not written as much as I did earlier. I think it’s because I’m in a different place mentally. I’ve really come to accept stuttering. So I felt that I shouldn’t give it as much attention. However, I realized that even though I was going through that, many others may not be. Some people may be coming to this site for the first time. And be looking for help or answers or some perspective. Now I think I want to take this up again and keep it updated, keep it relevant, and keep the links interesting. 

I’ve found so many people on X who are SLPs. Many don’t say stuttering/stammering specifically, but I wanted to connect to let everybody know that if you do run into someone who stutters, this site can be a great resource for stories. Please like, share, say hello, and spread the word as much as you can, and I look forward to connecting with more people and helping them on their journey, no matter the pace. It really means a lot to me when you do send a small note – it lets me know that people are really listening and getting something out of all this. 

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Small airplanes

August 14, 2023 by

I’m just going to try to get everybody caught up on what’s been happening in the past few years one post at a time. The time since the last post is only about two weeks, so I’d say I’m doing pretty good.

Anyway, I went on a business trip a few months ago, and one of the things that I love is flying. Not necessarily the way air travel is now, but the whole experience of getting onto an airplane and flying and having that sense of wonder. I’ve had this since I was a kid.

We live in Lancaster, PA, and there’s a small airport here. It’s got commercial service. It’s a single prop plane that used to fly to BWI, but now flies to Dulles, Pittsburgh, and other places. Well, I had to go to Buffalo for work, and I could have driven. Or … I could take the small prop plane down to Dulles and catch a connecting flight up to Buffalo. Since the times worked out and it was less than driving, I took it.

I love these planes. I love being able to see the ground as we fly, and what the pilots are up to. I love being able to smell the jet fuel as I walk on the tarmac. It’s just perfect.

So while going through security, I noticed that the [one] other person on my flight had the exact same carry-on that I did. A carry-on that I had bought about 15 years ago and had never seen in the wild. I didn’t have it on me, but I made a comment. “Oh, wow, I have that exact same bag.”

We made some small talk about how great the bag is (I’ve carried mine on hundreds of trips and beat it up pretty good on several overseas flights). I then gently transitioned to asking him where he was going – probably not just to DC. He said he was flying out west and going to a conference.

When we got on the plane we were able to keep chatting (it was the two of us and the two pilots …) across the small aisle. I learned that he graduated from the same high school as me and even had several of the same teachers. We had a good laugh about them. I don’t recall introducing myself, nor did I feel the need to. I think for me I’m a naturally curious person, so the questions come up quickly and then based on the answers, I just have more and more. There’s never a shortage.

I’m not sure if people find this annoying. I’m working on making sure I’m reading the room the right way and if they are giving signs that it’s time to shut up and enjoy the flight. I don’t think I stuttered too much when chatting with this guy, but I also didn’t let my stuttering stop me from initiating something in the first place. I’m starting to realize – what’s the worst that could happen? They could just acknowledge me and that’s it. Or we could have a lovely chat, and I could gain more confidence. And I could continue to put my stutter back in its place.

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Cruising

July 31, 2023 by

What if you didn’t have to introduce yourself?

One of the most stressful things those of us who stutter do on a regular basis is introduce ourselves. Being a covert stutterer other words were easy to avoid. A substitution here, a rearrangement of a sentence or phrase there. But never your name. That’s all you have, and you’re supposed to know it and be able to say it instantly. (This also applies to the names of your children … something that I’ve also had the displeasure of finding out). 

I’ve learned that once my name is finally out, the rest of the conversation isn’t too bad. (Especially now since I advertise, so I don’t even have to avoid words or phrases anyway). But I remember quite distinctly how stuttering through my name would cloud the rest of the conversation. I wouldn’t speak as much, would do lots of mental gymnastics to make sure the rest of my words would smoothly come out.

A few weeks ago my wife and I took a cruise. This was just my second, and it was quite enjoyable. I wondered though, that for a person who stutters, is meeting people on a cruise somewhat ideal? I never once introduced myself. Just started talking. And others were the same – they didn’t introduce themselves.

Ok, let me break this down and exactly how that even happened – I know how intimidating it can be to just start a conversation from nothing with a stranger.

There are many places on the ship where people will gather and line up for something or another. A coffee, a drink, an excursion. And they have no place to go, and neither do you. There are excursions that can be done off the ship – so a place to start a conversation is asking if they’ve gone on an excursion. Or which one they are going to do. Or how often they’ve cruised. Or if they’ve been to any of the shows.

At the end of the day when people are gathered, they’re generally tired. So you can make a comment like, “long day of relaxing, huh?” And then they’ll laugh and tell you about how they spent the entire day off the ship doing fun things that they’d never done before. Many people also wear t-shirts and hats from back home – you can ask about their teams. It was interesting just how much people opened up and told you about themselves.

Lately for me speaking to others has been about practice. And habit-breaking. When I was a kid I always associated opening my mouth with stuttering and struggling. Now I want to make the association between opening my mouth and learning and listening. 

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Acceptance – Tools and Techniques

March 11, 2022 by

Another installment in the Acceptance series. What I said during my talk:

I have accepted that there are tools and techniques to use when I feel like I’m having a bad day. That there are things that I can control. I take a deep breath before speaking. I speak more slowly. I prepare myself and rehearse what I need to say. I’ve accepted this because these are things that work for me, and I’ve seen people who are fluent do similar things before talking.

The thing about stuttering and how I feel about stuttering is that it’s … complicated. On the one hand I want people to accept me for the way that I sound and come across. And I’ve written about not being perfect. On the other hand, there are those days when I just want to be fluent. When I want to say what I want, exactly what I want, but not stumble or get stuck on my words.

It’s really a question of energy then. Do I want to spend my time trying to educate someone about stuttering and acceptance and patience, or do I want to spend energy on technique and breathing and preparation?

I think it’s still both for me. And that’s just where I am on my journey.

So I do use those tools and techniques. I use things that have worked before in the past, that are reliable and helpful. They help me reduce my overall stress when speaking. They allow me to speak on my own terms instead of being rushed. I’ve recently been changing the cadence of my speech as well, and that’s helped with fluency. I’m not sure how it’s coming across to others — or if they even notice — but it’s helping me in some ways.

Maybe in some ways these tools and techniques have made me a better speaker overall. There are people who don’t stutter at all who don’t work on their speaking. They fear public speaking and getting up in front of others. At least as someone who stutters I have these tools available and have used them frequently. So the fear of being in front of others is lessened, allowing me to focus on the content.

Let me know your thoughts. This one is tricky.

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Acceptance – Reactions

February 22, 2022 by

Next installment on Acceptance – here’s what I talked about with regards to reactions.

I have accepted that some people will not react to my stuttering in a positive way. This is because I know some people have their own problems. I can’t control that. When you cut someone else down, you’re saying more about yourself than you are to them. I have accepted myself, and if they cannot accept me, that’s not my problem.

Through tv and film, those of us who stutter have been made out to be the laughingstock. We struggle to say words, we wave our arms frantically, we make faces … all for a laugh. So when someone hears us stutter, they may be inclined to laugh at us. They don’t know, and I shouldn’t expect them to know. They probably don’t hear someone who stutters regularly. They may not have a friend who does. Their friend who stutters may sound completely different than us.

I know it seems that I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt, the allowance to be a jerk, to be disrespectful. And I guess I am. I’ve accepted that I can’t change years and years of tv and movies. I can only do it one interaction at a time. And I have done this. I’ve been laughed at, and then I rather firmly explain where I’m coming from and why what they’re saying is hurtful. I’m not in this to make myself feel better, but I want at least to educate them so that the next person isn’t humiliated. I know when I was younger being laughed at was devastating. I’d never wish that on anybody else.

I think where I’m coming from is that I don’t know anybody else’s background, and I shouldn’t expect them to know mine. But do I laugh at others when I first hear them talk or see what they look like? Well, no, I don’t do that. But that comes with maturity. To know that you’re supposed to listen for the content and not how the message is delivered. I think that’s the biggest problem today – people are just so quick to judge and give their opinion – on how something or someone stacks up against their expectation.

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Acceptance – Still Communicate

January 3, 2022 by

Happy New Year, everybody. Hope your holidays were fun. And now look at me, still trying to make good on finishing out this series. Still talking about Acceptance. Here’s the next installment. This is what I talked about with regards to communicating.

I have accepted that I can still communicate when I am not fluent. When I sit in a meeting and raise my hand to speak, to bring up a point, people listen, and they listen no matter how long it takes the idea to come out. They are interested in the message, and not how it sounds. I have accepted this, and it’s because I have heard others speak. And how some speak slowly, some quickly, some with many hesitations. And of course I’ve heard my brothers and sisters who stutter as well.

For a long time I was silent. I didn’t want to say anything because it wasn’t going to be fluent. And if it wasn’t going to be fluent, then I thought it wasn’t going to be relevant. It wasn’t going to add to the conversation.

Over time what I noticed was that when I did say something and stumble over my words, people generally didn’t care. I would get the occasionally snicker, but the co-workers who I had who had been with me for a long time, didn’t care at all. I noticed that I was able to get my point across, and usually someone would comment that it was, in fact, a good point. Something valid. Something worth adding to the conversation.

When I moved overseas, the dynamic was different as well. My confidence went up exponentially during meetings. This was because there was a lot of respect for me and what I was bringing to the table with regards to people and project management. They wanted to hear how I had done things, and how we were going to move forward.

It’s always been easy to give up and just send an e-mail. Not pick up the phone or walk down the hall. But in a smaller office setting where I became very comfortable with my colleagues, in-person discussions became the norm. This allowed the exchange of ideas, developing solutions, and understanding where others were coming from. I had to then present in front of other leaders. Having gone through an idea so many times, I knew my message would be sound, and that always helped my delivery and ongoing confidence.

Of course age has helped as well. Nowadays I try to listen first and then ask questions. Listening allows me to understand. And then breathing in and out a few times … slowing myself down … allows me to form a response and think through clearly what I want to articulate. I know that I’m not in a hurry. I know I can go back and forth. I know my default isn’t to argue or judge. Just calm.

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Acceptance – Not Perfect

December 16, 2021 by

Another installment regarding acceptance.

Here’s what I said in my talk regarding being perfect … or not.

I have accepted that I am not perfect. I will never be perfect. Not in how I speak, how I sound, how I do my job, as a husband, father, son and brother. I accept this because I have seen what I can accomplish without being perfect. And how much stress and energy I would need to be perfect. I know that nobody is perfect, and I would expect that grace from others. 

Let’s look at where this comes from, this idea of having to be perfect. At our core, when we are someone who stutters, we want to be fluent. That’s it. We want to sound like the people on tv. Movies. Friends. Bosses. Coworkers giving a presentation. They all say “oh, I hate public speaking” but yet there they are, up in front of others, being fluent. Not stumbling over words, not getting stuck on sounds.

So at a young age, we always see this. This fluency. It’s everywhere. And when we hear a stumble, a stutter, a hesitation, we are taught that it’s wrong. Abnormal. Not what we should sound like. The person is nervous. Trying to hide something. We are forced to then be perfect in the one thing that we physically cannot be. And that’s extremely stressful.

For me I started thinking about speaking as something equal to everything else that I do. It may not be, but this exercise helped me. I compared it with something like a written exam or a physical test. I don’t need to speak for those things, but they take some skill and talent and knowledge to do. And I can measure those things.

When I was growing up, I did well on written tests in school. Not always a hundred percent, but I got good grades. But a hundred percent is perfect. And I wasn’t perfect.

In gym I was overweight and slow. I finished last in the mile. I couldn’t do all the push-ups and sit-ups. I could play dodgeball, I suppose. But I wasn’t exactly making varsity for anything. So I wasn’t perfect. But I tried hard, didn’t complain, and got a decent grade in gym. Also not perfect.

As I reflected on these things, I realized that not being perfect didn’t stop me from moving forward in life, going to college, getting a job, making friends and having a family. People didn’t ask me about my grades before befriending me. Grad school wanted good grades, but not perfect. And they didn’t care about my physical prowess.

Once I applied this all to my speech, I was able to accept myself more. I understood that my speech will never sound like a tv commentator or movie star. That I will have bad days and great days. But I can still accomplish my goals and feel good as a person for trying and working.

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Acceptance – No Cure

November 30, 2021 by

I wanted to expand on a few topics regarding acceptance, and this is the first of eight. I gave a talk at TISA a few weeks back, and I was able to talk about these a little bit. Now that I’ve had more time to reflect, here’s what I hope will be helpful with regards to acceptance and what you can do with regards to how you think about stuttering.

Here’s what I said for the talk:

I have accepted that there is no cure for stuttering. The physical act of stuttering. I have come to terms with the fact that there may never be a medical breakthrough to cure stuttering. To fix that disconnect between our thoughts and our mouth. I accept this because of the simple reality of pharmaceutical companies. They will make drugs for what impacts the most number of people. We are not dying because we stutter, and our numbers are relatively small. We will still live. So it’s not a focus, and I can accept that. I understand the business of it.

When I was younger, I certainly held out hope that they’d come up with some kind of cure. Some pill or treatment for stuttering. You’d just go and do it, and the next day, boom, fluent as a tv commentator. As the years went on, and I learned more about how the world works, I realized that this was not going to happen. I also realized that there are many out there who are keen to take advantage of those in need. There are a lot of so-called cures and treatments out there. Some are more effective than others. I’ve come to realize that there’s a standard for treatment — going through a rigorous process, doing studies, seeing results. And that for the fly-by-night stuff, it simply isn’t there.

A “cure” to me means a full solution, full stop. Not something halfway that works half the time. I can do that. I can relax, I can breathe, I can be prepared. I can do none of those things and have a good day of being fluent. I can do all of those things and have a bad day and barely be able to get out a word.

Once the studies are done and the speech therapists of the world tell us there’s a cure, then I’ll be happy to get on board. But as I said in the first paragraph, it’s probably not just going to be a therapy thing, it’ll be a medical breakthrough. And the likelihood of that is very small given where we are in line with regards to other ills of the world.

So for me I choose not to spend any energy on hoping and dreaming for this cure. I’d rather use that to get myself in a better mental state of acceptance.

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Acceptance

October 1, 2021 by

I was asked by The Indian Stammering Association, TISA, to give a talk about acceptance and stuttering. I put down a few hundred words and had some specific ideas about stuttering and acceptance. And now, given that National Stuttering Awareness Day is only three weeks away, I thought I’d share a few bullet points and then expand on them as the days go on.

(Keep in mind that I’ve promised things before during the month of October, and I’ve not done them. Hopefully this will be very different since I’ve got a lot of the notes down, and I’m off next week as I transition to a new job. Which, of course, is a whole other discussion and series (hopefully, again) of posts.)

So here are the eight things that I said during the talk that I’ve accepted. I’m sure over the next few months I’ll realize a few more, consolidate some of these, and then have a new list. But until then, here we go:

  • I have accepted that there is no cure for stuttering.
  • I have accepted that I am not perfect.
  • I have accepted that I can still communicate when I am not fluent.
  • I have accepted that stuttering is unpredictable.
  • I have accepted that there are tools and techniques to use when I feel like I’m having a bad day.
  • I have accepted that some people will not react to my stuttering in a positive way.
  • I have accepted that I do not know what others are thinking, and that they may not know what I am thinking.
  • Lastly, I have accepted that stuttering is not all of who I am.

Over the next few days I’ll expand on each of these ideas. What they mean to me, and the work I put in to get to this point of acceptance.

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School Starts

August 27, 2021 by

I’ve not been thinking about my stuttering too much lately. Summer has been fun. Lots of time at the beach with family, and a few trips when and where possible. I knew it would go by fast, and it did. Stuttering-wise, not a lot stood out. Maybe because we were still sort of isolating and not talking to too many new folks.

Well, of course that had to end. School has started for the kids. Which means strolling on down to the bus stop with the kids in the morning and standing around until the bus shows up. I’ve not met all my neighbors.

On the first day my wife and I went down and saw a couple who live three houses down. My wife introduced herself to the mother, and I … did not. I just wasn’t feeling it. There was enough other noise and whatnot happening with the kids that maybe it wasn’t noticeable. Maybe I thought she’d introduce me as well? I don’t know. What I do know is that even though I’m more comfortable with my stutter than ever before, I still have days where I don’t want to talk, and where I don’t want to hear myself stutter.

Of course I had to make up for that. Because I was feeling bad inside about it. I get on this blog and tell people it’ll be ok, and it’s ok to stutter, and now here I am not even opening my mouth.

This morning another stroll down to the bus stop, and a neighbor who I hadn’t talked to. My wife introduced herself. I jumped in after, stuttering really hard on my first name. Eyes closed, starting, stopping, starting, stopping, breathing all out of whack. Ugh. Finally got it out.

He stood there, patiently waiting.

When he heard my name, all he asked was, “Rehan with an R-E, or an R-A?”

I said “R-E.”

He replied that he was going to a wedding this weekend for a friend who was named Rayhan.

And that was it. I got my name out. I learned his name. We made a connection. Life didn’t end. My brain got back on board with introducing myself and not freaking out about how things may turn out.

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Office chit chat

May 20, 2021 by

During Covid, I spent all my time at home working. Call after call, meeting after meeting. I rarely made any kind of small talk unless it was the two minutes before everybody else joined.

I’ve been going back into the office lately (well, the plant) and it’s been … different. I still keep booking meetings hour after hour, so unless there’s something that ends early, I’m still busy all day. But during those times when I have had to just talk to people, I’ve enjoyed it. A lot.

I am fortunate to have a short commute to my home plant, so staying at home for work didn’t really make an impact on that. But being able to see people in person and practice my speech has been really good. I think the confidence I gained from all of those calls is carrying over nicely to the “real” world.

I am curious how others have been faring in all of this. Do you prefer to be at home and talk to people on your own terms, or do you miss when there were conversational possibilities all day?

I know for me a few years ago I would dread the office talk to some extent. It was exhausting. Trying to stay fluent, trying to stay competent, interesting, whatever. Now it seems there’s more to talk about, more to catch up on. I wonder if it’ll fade away again when we’re all back for a few months?

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Surprise Stutter

April 28, 2021 by

It’s been a while now since I thought a lot about stuttering. And I think it’s been even longer that I’ve noticed it in my speech. I’d say my fluency has been relatively high lately. To the point where a casual observer would say I don’t stutter. I’m not avoiding, I’m not staying quiet, I’m just feeling good, and that’s helping with my confidence and thus my speech.

I’m sure I am stuttering a little bit here and there. Stumbling on words, but now it doesn’t sound any different than what my fluent friends put forth.

So the other day I was on a call for work, and I got stuck. Hard. And had to really stutter through it. It totally caught me off guard. I’m past the point of dwelling on these things for very long, but wow, it was pretty jarring. In my mind I hadn’t been stuttering for weeks, and here I was again, reminded that this will never go away.

I don’t think it was anything specific with the content or the environment. I think, as we all know, it just … happens. When it happens. We don’t get to decide.

What I wanted to think more about is why have I felt so good lately? I think it’s definitely getting into a nice groove at work, spending a lot more time with family (I am working from home most of the week) and having the summer with my family to look forward to. Finances are sound, and there aren’t any external worries weighing down on me.

Now I need to work on keeping this going. It feels good. It sounds good. It builds and builds. Yes, there are minor road bumps, but it’s pretty great. I’m wondering though as things open up, what will it be like to interact with others more. People who I haven’t seen in months. New neighbors (I moved into this house at the start of the lockdowns). Making small talk. Giving life updates on the past 12 months in a few minutes without sounding boring or blathering.

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Secrets to Fulfilled Life, Part 2

September 25, 2020 by

I wrote previously about Oliver Burkeman’s piece in the Guardian. Today I wanted to expand on another point he’s made:

When stumped by a life choice, choose “enlargement” over happiness.

The idea, according to Burkeman, is that we don’t ultimately know what will make us happy — so we should be choosing the approach that favor growth. In my mind, with growth comes new opportunities, and then maybe one among those will provide us with happiness.

About ten years ago, I was two years into a job with Jacobs Engineering in Omaha, NE. By this time I had gotten to know everybody in the office, at our client’s corporate headquarters, and at several plants. My speech was steady and fine. I wasn’t overly confident about just throwing myself out there, but I was less worried about what others thought.

An opportunity then came up to go overseas and work for Jacobs in Saudi.

What would this mean? The stress of packing up our house and moving. Moving to a foreign country. New laws, new politics. New coworkers, a client relationship that wasn’t very old.

Basically leaving all the comforts of home for a lot of unknowns.

It would have been so easy to stay at home, but I knew in speaking with my boss that I needed international experience to move up in the company. And I had that drive to do so.

So I chose growth.

I went into that adventure with the mindset of, “ok, I’m going to make this work.” And it did. Very well. I knew ahead of time that my speech might be rough at the beginning. It was. But then it smoothed out considerably, and I started feeling more confident about what I was doing, and why I was there. I started writing more, and cranked out this blog. I went to the NSA conference.

The chance to go overseas could have been seen as “maybe” happiness. Maybe things will work out. Maybe I’ll enjoy the sun and the sand. If I had made the decision purely based on potential happiness, I would not have gone. But instead I looked around as often as I could while there and took stock of a lot more of the world and what it had to offer.

Life changed a lot in those 5.5 years, but there was certainly no shortage of opportunities.

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Secrets to Fulfilled Life, Part 1

September 24, 2020 by

I recently read this great article from Oliver Burkeman regarding secrets to a fulfilled life. I wanted to comment on each item over the next few days and how I think they relate to what I’ve experienced with regards to stuttering.

My thoughts have some overlap between them, but here we go … these aren’t in any particular order from the original article.

“The advice you don’t want to hear is usually the advice you need.“

He goes on to say about this, “so the advice that could really help is likely to make you uncomfortable.”

When I think back to my younger years in school, what would have made me very, very, very uncomfortable would have been having someone say, “you should call this person up on the phone, just to try to talk to them.”

Or, “you should go up to that person and try to have a conversation.”

Or, “you should attend an NSA conference and be surrounded by other people who stutter.”

Or … so many things.

But nobody ever did. Since I was covert, and since I didn’t like to talk about my stuttering, my friends never brought it up. So they could never challenge me to get out of my comfort zone.

He goes on to say:

“One good question to ask is what kind of practices strike you as intolerably cheesy or self-indulgent: gratitude journals, mindfulness meditation, seeing a therapist? That might mean they are worth pursuing.”

I spent a few years journaling about stuttering. I’d put down my thoughts from when I first started stuttering through college. While I was doing that, I realized a lot of things about myself, my reactions, and what motivated a lot of my decisions. Nobody specifically asked me to try it, but I certainly wish someone would have done it earlier.

Through all that writing, I had plenty of things to blog about here which went really well. And then all that introspection finally gave me the strength to sign up for my first NSA Conference. And that changed everything for me.

So I would strongly support what Burkeman suggested — getting advice you need is definitely uncomfortable. But it’s also completely worth it to help with your stuttering journey.

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No more nightmares

September 17, 2020 by

The other day I took my daughter to the pediatrician for her annual checkup. (All is good). During the visit I asked about something specific, and about getting a referral. So before leaving, I was handed a paper, the referral. I asked the person at the front desk what I should do with it (I don’t do this often). So she said to call the number on the top, and they’d be able to help me. Seems reasonable.

The next day I called the number and asked about the specific service I needed. There was some confusion. And then some transferring. And then a bit more confusion. Then I was told that I should call the doctor’s office back, and that they should make the referral call. So I called the doctor’s office back, and … nobody picked up. So I left a message with all the details. After a bit, they called me back and explained to me how what I was told at the front desk was wrong, that they’d handle all the calls, and then call me once it’s all done.

Which made more sense.

Basically I made a bunch of phone calls that I didn’t have to. And I gave a bunch of information that I stuttered hard on that I didn’t have to. And I was a bit confused which I also didn’t have to be.

That evening I told the story to my wife, and she said, “they made you call which they didn’t know was your worst nightmare.”

And I thought about this for a while afterward. (My wife knows all about my stuttering and the journey I’ve been on. She knows my feelings toward the phone and its challenges. She’s been very supportive throughout.)

I thought about how a few years ago, yes, it was a nightmare. Calling on the phone was something I would completely avoid at all costs. I’d put things off due to having to call. I’d e-mail or text or whatever else.

When I had to make the calls to the doctor, I knew I’d stutter. Maybe on my name, my date of birth, whatever. I always do. But I’m finally well past the point that it bothers me. Or brings me down before and after the call. Right now it’s just an annoyance more than anything. I want to get on with the call, get on with giving information, and get back to doing what I want to do.

Years ago after calls like that I’d be mentally wiped out. I’d feel like garbage, and get really down on myself. I’d sink back into a hole and avoid the phone all over again. I’d let it cloud my thoughts for hours and hours.

These days I make calls when I need to make calls. I’ll stutter. I sure will. Sometimes I advertise it, sometimes I don’t.

But the nightmares are over.

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What’s not stuttering

August 27, 2020 by

When I was growing up, one of the hardest things to come to terms with regarding my stutter was watching fluent people just initiate random conversations. I think back to things like car shows or garage sales or other places where you’re walking among strangers. And as you walk and see something that interests you, you find the person who’s probably the owner, and just blurt out your comment.

Sees a right-hand-drive BMW

“Wow, that’s nice, how’d you get that car in this country?”

No thanks.

My approach was to look at something, appreciate it, and then if someone came up to me, I’d engage. Lightly.

But just putting it out there? Are you nuts? I’d stutter! Of course I would. And in the off chance that I didn’t, I’d say something in that exact moment that someone else would — and then be faced with having to repeat myself. Or maybe I’d not say something loudly enough. Then be asked to repeat myself. Or maybe the stranger would hear me, would answer back, and then introduce themselves. Say my name to a stranger? Nope!

So the world of pure spontaneous utterances was always off limits to me. Oh, but how I wished I could. I wanted to engage. I wanted to talk, I wanted to find out more. But the cost was too high.

When I lived in Saudi, I had a friend who would talk to every stranger he saw. I’m only slightly exaggerating. Yes, it was his personality (as a business owner) but I was always in awe of how easy it was for him. How he just …made small talk wherever he went.

I’ve been getting better at this though. The amount of time it takes to get the nerve up to say something is getting shorter for sure.

With all that said, I’ve been thinking about getting a new car. A Jeep. This has been fun to research, of course. And my Instagram-browsing has lead me down the path of larger wheels and lift kits. A few days ago I was driving home, with my windows down, the sunroof open, and I saw a pair of black lifted Jeeps up ahead.

I liked the way that they looked. Larger wheels and tires. Lifted. Enjoying all the things that Jeep pushes in their marketing.

They stopped at the light, going straight. I was going left. I stopped alongside one of them, shoved my stuttering aside, leaned way over (I have a very low car) and shouted out —

“Are those thhhhhrty ffffffffives, or thirty sevens?”

“They’re thirty seven.”

“And is that a two inch lift, or-“

“It’s a three inch.”

“Thanks!”

So yes, I physically stuttered a little. But the huge wins were:

  1. Asking exactly what I wanted to
  2. Being completely spontaneous

I’m going to continue to focus on my wins, not losses. And by adding them here, I hope you can all change your mindset as well to think about how over many, many months you can also slowly go from being afraid to fearlessly putting yourself out there.

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More and more normal

August 21, 2020 by

So I’m sure a lot of you saw this clip at the US Democratic National Convention.

As someone who has been stuttering for many decades, this is quite incredible to me. For those who don’t stutter, let help explain this.

When you’re a young person who stutters and don’t have anybody to look up to, you’re going to spend your early years in your own world. That means avoiding, changing out words, making excuses, and not living a full life. You’re not going to make decisions based on what’s best for your life and your future — you’re going to make them based on what you can say, right now, and what you’re comfortable saying. It’s extraordinarily restrictive.

By having Biden come out and help this young man, he’s normalizing what millions of us have been hiding for so long. Yes, there will be people who still make fun of us. Who don’t understand. Who interrupt us. Who talk over us. But history will soon forget them as our voices get louder and louder.

I never had anybody when I was younger to look up to for stuttering. Nobody in a position of leadership or power who normalized stuttering. It’s taken me many, many years to get to where I am now. I advertise my stuttering whenever I can. It’s more and more. And by doing that in front of strangers, I hope that I can normalize it for them. To let people know that I am not the mechanics of my voice, but rather the content of my speech.

I hope that in a few years the media checks back in with Brayden to see how he’s getting on. For almost all of us, there is no “overcoming” of the stuttering, but there is acceptance of who we really are. I think having more people who are openly stuttering on tv will continue to normalize all of us, and allow us to seek self-acceptance instead of banging our heads against the walls of absolute fluency.

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Stuttering and Shaking

August 6, 2020 by

I was out for a walk the other night with my partner, and we saw some neighbors heading our way. I didn’t know them, but they were nice enough to stop and say hello. They then asked about us — being new to the neighborhood and all that.

And then he approached me, wanting to shake my hand.

Are we doing this? I don’t think we’re doing this still.

But I wanted to be friendly! We’re neighbors! Having a little chat.

At the same time of the handshake approach, he introduced himself, and I had to say my name.

I honestly don’t recall if I shook his hand or not. Because my eyes were closed, and I was trying really hard to say my name. A lot harder than I should have, yes. It took me a few tries, and I got stuck, and I didn’t say anything for a little bit, and then dragged out the r, and then … who knows what else. You know how it is.

I finally said my name, and then retreated back a step. The conversation went from there (no mention of the stutter, nor did I bother advertising). Sometimes, well, sometimes it doesn’t feel right in the moment.

So we chatted for a while and then went our separate ways. I didn’t think about it much after that other than making a note that it was a notable stutter in recent memory. I’m still stuttering obviously, but with COVID and everything else, there aren’t as many in-person introductoins to worry about.

I think years ago I would have beat myself up over it and felt bad about it for hours afterward. I got over this within minutes. I think the next time I see these people I may bring it up. And my feeling to bring it up isn’t so much about me and my situation. I’ve learned that generally speaking, people don’t know about us. About stuttering. So if I can education another couple about it — that it’s just who I am and will always be — that should be the goal.

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Your name or your question

July 26, 2020 by

I moved into a new house a few months back, and have been slowly doing projects here and there. Of course that means a lot of trips to the big box home improvement stores. During COVID, of course, it’s a little easier — you can basically fill your shopping cart from the comfort of your couch and then go to the store and pick it all up.

One of the options for pickup has been to park your car and then wait while they bring your stuff.

The other option is to go inside and stand in line and wait for your stuff.

And what might be the problems with these if you’re someone who stutters? Oh yeah, you usually have to say your name — first or last. There’s the off chance that they may just ask you for your order number, but hey, it’s still a bunch of numbers and letters that you’re going to be put on the spot to read.

So I ask — what’s better? This system, or our stuttering favorite workaround of meandering the aisles for an hour since we sure as heck ain’t gonna ask someone for help?

As someone who’s come to accept my stuttering, I’m fine with the new way. I actually like it a lot more. I’m focused on the big picture here — staying away from people, spending the least amount of time in the store, and getting exactly what I’ve already spent some time scrolling and trying to find.

I think even if it was a few years ago what I would have done is just shown the clerk my phone with the order number on it. The information they need is there, and they usually ask for it anyway. I could have avoided giving a name if I really had to.

But this way does make me basically confront my biggest challenge — saying my name in public — in exchange for convenience, which is always fun to try.

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Free Ice

July 15, 2020 by

A few weeks ago we had a chance to finally get away for a few days. We stayed at a house near the beach and decided to have groceries delivered. Our week would be house, beach, and nothing more. The kids were on board. I wanted to keep doing my part as far as the pandemic was concerned.

So I’m in the parking lot at the rental house, and another gentlemen is loading up his car. I stayed a few feet back, and then said hello. We struck up a conversation about where they were visiting from, what they’d done while down at the beach, and how it’s nice to get away. Small talk.

As you can imagine, small talk isn’t something that comes easy for someone who stutters. I am always, always, always worried about the next thing to say, the right body language to put forth, intonation, a laugh here, a smile there, and to come across as … normal.

I definitely feel like I’m getting better at it the more that I do it.

After our discussion, I went back into the house for a bit. I then had to go back outside to grab something out of the car. The same guy was there, and he asked if I’d like a bag of ice since they were leaving and obviously wouldn’t need it. Of course I would — we have a bunch of kids who are pretty hot and like cold drinks!

I realized that this is how it’s supposed to be — and how it is for many, many people. And a lot of what I missed growing up being afraid to talk to people randomly. Random acts of kindness. Serendipities. Offers of help or goods. Or maybe I could help or give directions or advice.

I didn’t ask for the ice. I didn’t ask for anything. Just being myself was enough. Not being afraid of my stuttering and stumbling through a small conversation. Every time something like this happens I do like to stop and write it down. And then go back and look at all of those times when being someone who stutters didn’t have any kind of negative impact.

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Howdy, neighbor

April 29, 2020 by

Still at home, working away. These days I’d say I spend the majority of the working day on phone calls. That’s right, the guy who used to hate the phone now is on it for nearly 7 hours a day.

Ok, not exactly the phone, but Webex. You get it. Sometimes I turn the video on, sometimes not. Sometimes I have run the meeting, sometimes I just listen in. Including this week, my average weekly meeting total is about 32. That’s a lot of listening and talking.

I’m doing pretty well with it all, I’d say. There are so many familiar faces and voices, so I feel comfortable speaking up whenever I need to.

Early on during COVID I did have to set up some get-to-know meetings when I was given more plants to cover for engineering. I had three of these, and I advertised during all three of them. Within the first two minutes I told them that I was someone who stutters. None of them had any issues with it, and they all thanked me for letting them know. Those kinds of wins have been helping me greatly on the phone as well.

Yesterday I was outside on my driveway faffing about with my cargo bike and saw my neighbor. We’d not met formally yet. He was looking at the bike from afar and then came closer. We started up a chat, and before too long I was also telling him (and his wife who also was outside) that I stuttered.

Advertising is definitely one of those huge barriers that seems insurmountable at first. But the more you do it, the more you want to do it. The better it makes you feel in the moment, and the better it makes your speech and stress as the conversation goes on.

Once the restrictions are lifted, I know I’ll have to travel more to visit my new plants. I am definitely looking forward to practicing even more advertising then. Stay tuned.

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2020 Q1 Goals Update

April 14, 2020 by

Well, here it is. Something I’m not quite excited about doing as I should be. A goals update. As a reminder, here’s what I wanted to achieve this year:

  1. Reduce body fat by 7%
  2. Read 6 fiction and 6 nonfiction books
  3. 25 blog posts
  4. 30,000 meters of rowing per month
  5. Run a November 5k in under 30 minutes
  6. Keep library fines to under $30 annually
  7. Reduce ten items per month from the house

Let’s go through them one by one. I’m not going to lie and say I have beautiful data. I have some good guesses. But I’ll be brutally honest at the end at least.

  1. Reduce body fat by 7% – Nope, and not on track. No change this first quarter. No fundamental changes to diet or exercise.
  2. Read 6 fiction and 6 nonfiction books – Yes! I did complete two of each. While that leaves me slightly behind, I can easily make this up. I’ll put together a list of the books at my next update.
  3. 25 blog posts – Q1 had 9 posts. So I’m on track to beat this goal.
  4. 30,000 meters of rowing per month – Big no on that one.
  5. Run a November 5k in under 30 minutes – It’s not November yet! Although I did move at the end of March and still haven’t put the treadmill back together.
  6. Keep library fines to under $30 annually – Yes! But only because the library is closed. I think I had $23 in Q1 (I know, I know).
  7. Reduce ten items per month from the house – Maybe? I moved, and definitely threw a lot of crap out.

So let’s see … 7 goals, 3.5 on track, 3.5 not on track. I’d give myself a solid C for 2020 Q1.

Here comes the best part though — the list of excuses! That’s right. I have … reasons … for my shortcomings. Mainly they’re around the stress of COVID, being at home all the time and constantly on work calls through the day. I also got promoted in early March, so the past few weeks have been even busier. Then of course there was the house move in the background all the time. And if that would even happen — we ended up closing in the parking lot behind the title company’s office.

Progress on the “mental” goals more than the physical. But with warmer months coming up, I should be able to tighten things up. I am considering getting some sort of online trainer set up so I have more accountability. Working through the finances of that first.

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Stuttering and COVID-19

April 2, 2020 by

Just a few weeks ago I was writing about attending a trade show and what that felt like. Don’t worry, I’ll finish up that short series this month. But first, of course, the pandemic. I count myself very lucky to be working in the food industry at this time. We’ve been tasked with producing as much as possible for the next few months, so there’s plenty to keep me busy. And as a corporate engineer, I’m able to work from home. I’m on calls pretty much all day with some breaks — enough to go for a walk or check in on the kids. The kids will start online school next week, so that’ll give them something to focus on for a few hours a day.

What I wanted to address today is how being someone who stutters is helping me deal with the pandemic mentally. None of these three reasons is earth-shattering or new — you can find them on memes or motivational posters or whatever. But I wanted to tie my experiences to each of them.

I will certainly say that it’s taken me years to get to this point. I had to do a lot of work and go through a lot of pain and heartache. It’s still not easy every day, but it’s certainly better than it was five or ten years ago.

1. I can only control so much in my life. For everything else, I must accept what happens

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve stuttered. This will never change, and that’s something I’ve come to accept. There are some days that are a lot better than others, and that randomness is part of the angst of stuttering. I have no idea what the day will hold for me when I wake up. There are some things I can control — my breathing (using my techniques) and techniques like advertising to get the attention focused on my message versus my delivery.

With Covid, I can control my comings and goings, who I go to see (nobody) and wearing a mask if I have to go in public. I can make a grocery list and hurry through the grocery store, making sure to socially distance myself from everybody. I’ve come to accept that this will go on for months. I can’t control that or what others do. I have to focus on doing my part and maintaining control for myself and my children.

In many ways this ties into the item below:

2. My response to stress is up to me

When I’m stressed out and having to speak, it’s always a disaster. This used to happen if I was upset and yelling. Or if I had to give answers on the spot about something I wasn’t prepared for. If I had a lot to do in a short period of time at work and was asked about other things. I’ve learned in these instances that I’m stressed not because of a singular event, but because I’m carrying the burden of several things. And this additional stress has put me over the edge. After many years I realized what I was doing and learned to compartmentalize my stresses. Then dealing with a smaller stress became easier because I could use familiar tools — take a long pause and try to slow my breathing. Calm myself down. Think clearly, and prepare just a few words.

In dealing with Covid, it’s an ongoing stress that wasn’t there even a month ago. It permeates everything — tv, work, friends, family. The uncertainty of it means that everybody is always on edge. It’s hard to prepare and plan for anything because the news changes every 12 hours. Some news is inherently more stressful than others — and not only does the pandemic create stress, but there’s the daily stresses of work and family to pile on as well.

Occasionally I feel the stress of Covid on top of family, friends and work will go past my breaking point. I want to get upset, I want to rant on about how terrible everything is. But I’ve learned that that response won’t do anything for me. So I slow down and focus on just one stress at a time. When I do that, I calm down a lot faster. I don’t “stack” stresses up. If Covid has got me upset and my kid forgets to put away the dishes, I won’t lash out.

3. Focus on the positives, and don’t dwell on the negatives

Stuttering is inherently filled with perceived negatives. Not being fluent. Getting flummoxed. Not wanting to say anything at all. Not being able to make a joke fast enough. Not getting through on the phone. Every day, every hour, you can find something negative about stuttering. Rarely do we focus on the positives. Over the past few years, I’ve been trying to change that.

The news these days is mostly negative as well. How fast the pandemic is traveling, how many are infected, what more is to come, and how long we must stay isolated to get ahead of the virus. It can be hard to even think of something positive, but I know that by doing so I can get through the days, weeks and months ahead. I think about how fortunate I am to still have my job and something to do all day to keep me occupied. I think about lunchtime walks and being able to get some exercise and sun. I think about the tools we do have to connect with one another — texting, calling, e-mailing — that make it more bearable. I think about being able to spend more time with the kids — seeing them between conference calls and having more meals with them.

I know that Covid won’t go away for many months, but I’m also counting myself fortunate that I’ll be able to blog more and talk about all the conference calls I have to do and the ways I’m getting through them.

 

 

 

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Attending a Trade Show

March 16, 2020 by

I went to a trade show earlier this month. Pack Expo in Philly. This was an easy trip for me since I’m really close to Philly and could just take the train. Also I’ve somehow managed to work for nearly two decades and not ever go to a show. The last trade show I went to was in college, and that was for a newspaper conference in NYC. I wanted to write a few posts on my feelings toward doing this. At the end of the month it’ll also be the end of the first quarter, so I get to be honest about my goals for 2020 as well. It’s a mixed bag …

Today I’ll talk about my feelings before the show and then in the first hour. The next post will be about the show itself followed by a post on my feelings after some reflection. Here goes.

Before the show, I honestly didn’t think about my stuttering. I didn’t think about having to talk to a bunch of strangers and what I’d say to them, or ask them, or tell them about myself. The reason for this was because based on the projects that I knew were coming up for my company, I just wanted to go and see some solutions. I thought about standing at a booth looking at some equipment in operation, or picking up a brochure, or taking some photos.

I think a lot of this had to do with never having been to a show before. I knew about networking events (never done that, either), and this was not that. Some of what was on the show’s web site talked about before and after networking events, but at this time I wasn’t interested in that at all.

As far as introducing myself, I didn’t think much about that either — I figured there would be a name tag and lanyard. So they could just see my name. That took out a lot of the stress.

When I got to the show, it was not too chaotic. I got my badge and strolled on in. This is a smaller version of a show they have out west in the fall. I have been trying to go to that one for a while with no luck due to work. I didn’t have a “floor strategy” or anything. I could have studied the map on the train, but figured what’s the point, I can just walk around. I was planning on being there for two days.

During my first hour, I was pleasantly surprised at how open to talking people were. I figured out after a while this was because a.) these are sales people and b.) I am a customer. There were plenty of other people there without money to spend. But that was not me. I was on a mission.

For whatever reason, I still don’t have business cards yet. I was concerned about this somewhat, but then thought, well, I’ll just get their card, and if I need their stuff, I’ll reach out to them. Oh no. This show was better than that. They put a QR code right on your badge and then gave all the vendors an app to scan. No need for me to carry around a card!

In the next post, I’ll talk about what a typical conversation was like. And how the show got easier and easier as the hours went on.

 

 

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What to do when you have to talk

February 11, 2020 by

I’m a member of a few groups on Facebook for stuttering. Frequently on there I’ll see someone saying something along the lines of, “I have a speech tomorrow, and I’m so nervous, I don’t know what to do!” For whatever reason people are reaching out for help hours before they need to go up on stage or whatever to address an audience.

Now I think that the requesters probably skew young — you have a speech for class, or a presentation or whatever for a grade. I get that. Students aren’t the best at … planning.

But here’s the thing. You stutter. You knew when you started high school or college or whatever that you might have to speak. It’s been in the syllabus since Day 1. So what needs to happen is instead of looking at the syllabus and freaking out, preparations need to be made.

I know for me early on I’d see such a requirement and block it out of my mind. I’d freak out, but not in a constructive way. Since then, I’ve been able to slowly change my mindset. And I’d hope others could as well. What you should be doing before practicing any breathing exercises or pre-speaking mouth rituals, is making sure you’re head is in the right place. Instead of dismissing it like a long-term paper or other big project until the last minute, you have to accept that you’re different. You stutter. Your preparation for this is different than it is for others. Your friends can “be so nervous in front of crowds” and still pull off what looks like a nice fluent speech. You can’t. You never have, and that’s fine. But you need to make an exception to your preparation and go above and beyond.

Once you get it into your head that you can and will do this, it’s time to start getting ready. Let’s say it’s an oral book report. Here’s what I’d recommend — and what I’ve done before that’s worked for me.

  1. Read the book. Like, really read it. Don’t just skim it, don’t just read summaries, read it. Know it. Inside and out. Read some criticism of it if you can.
  2. Read parts of it out loud in private. Start to feel the flow of the words and how the author has strung the story together. Practice your breathing while doing this. Take a deep breath before every sentence, and then let it slowly out as the sentence unfolds.
  3. Prepare your report. Write it out, type it out, edit it. Scribble, revise. All of it.
  4. Read your report out loud. One paragraph at a time. Pay attention to your breathing, your pacing, your shoulders. Relax your shoulders! If you’ve been to therapy, practice what you learned there.
  5. Bonus: practice in front of a friend. I know, I know. It’s really hard. You’re covert, and you don’t want your friends to know.
  6. Bonus: practice in front of a few friends.

That’s what I’d say for doing a speech — you need to make time for it. Otherwise you’ll be up against it, barely having said a word of it, and barely being able to finish.

Remember that the idea here is to make better memories of your stuttering. If you do nothing, you’ll make the same memory. And as you grow older, your connection to a speech will be negative. If you put in the time to make the speech a little better, you’ll make that mental connection that preparation equals comfort, and comfort equals less stuttering.

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Two years at the new job

February 4, 2020 by

Wow. It’s been two years since I started this new job. It’s not new anymore!

Compared to the last company I was with for about 13 years, I’ve advertised to more people in a shorter amount of time. I’ll call that significant progress. I’ve also been less and less stressed about speaking on the phone. Cold calls, answering, calling quickly to people I know for information, all of that.

Just the other day I had to make two cold calls basically back to back to get some information from a vendor. One of them was there, the other I left a message for. I used my tools — thinking about what I wanted to say first, then taking a deep breath and speaking at the pace I wanted — not the one dictated by the other person. In both instances it worked out very well.

In addition to paying attention to breathing, another tactic I’ve used a lot is to just … get it over with. Don’t overthink it. Don’t give the Negativity any time to seep in there and start causing doubt. That doesn’t do anybody any good. This of course takes a lot more practice. You can start with “easier” calls that aren’t mission critical to your home life or job.

The beauty of doing a few good phone calls is that you can remember them — and start forgetting about all the misery you’ve had previously on the phone. The last few thoughts of calls will be of communication and expedient resolution. So why not keep picking that option?

Filed Under: Stuttering on Lately, Work Tagged With: , , ,

Nuances of the phone

January 28, 2020 by

So one thing I’m not the best at is … putting people’s phone numbers into my phone. I know, it’s really simple. Just get a phone number, or read a phone number, or have someone text, and then take the few seconds to whip up a contact.

I wanted to open this one up a little. I have a feeling it goes back to stuttering. Hear me out. For the longest time, I hated talking on the phone. Hated. Didn’t want to pick it up, didn’t want to call anybody, didn’t want to be involved in any way shape or form.

I’m also bad at asking someone for their number — people who I will probably have to call. Or people who I would need to contact in case of an urgent matter at the plant. Or have their number to call them to ask them where they are if we’re meeting in a few days. I should have their number because somebody else might ask for it, and why should I spend fifteen minutes sifting through e-mails like a moron?

I think what this disconnect is for me is this subconscious saying, “you’re going to stutter when you call someone, so you’re not calling this person, so no need to remember this number.”

Unfortunately society has gotten to the point where I don’t have to call anybody. I can just text when I want. Or e-mail. Or schedule a meeting.

Sporadically over the past few years I’ve had phone calls with people. Phone calls that went really well. Short. Long. But what they all had in common was getting something straightened out or done in a really short amount of time. Not sure about something? Think it’ll be confusing over text? Too long to text? The person doesn’t check e-mail regularly? Call. Within two minutes, the issue is resolved.

So I need to get better at using the phone as a tool to quickly address things. Calling just to have a chat … I may learn something! I worked for a long time on this idea that if I stuttered I wouldn’t die (and it worked.) Now this is the next thing to work on — associating all the positive effects of the phone and ignoring my fears.

 

Filed Under: Experiments, Stuttering on Lately, Stuttering Views Tagged With: , , ,

Struggling the Most

January 21, 2020 by

I’ve said recently that my stuttering hasn’t been too bad the past two years since the new job began. But I do still stutter. I always will. I’ve come to accept this.

So what am I stuttering on lately? Or what conditions seem to make it worse? I’d say unpreparedness.

I had to think for a while about this since things move slow enough — or maybe I’ve just figured out better how to control them — so that I’m rarely unprepared. This mostly happens in a meeting when I’m asked about something completely off-topic. The good news is that I work with people who are patient. So if I need to take a moment to say, “let me think,” they usually do. And then I can look something up on the computer or rack my brain trying to recall what the issue was.

I’d say it only gets worse if there’s a peppering of questions by others for me. Then usually what happens is that I’ll stumble for answers as I’m trying to think. Then while I’m thinking and speaking and stuttering, I’m also forgetting the other thing that they need to know. So a few questions in, and I’m already trying to backtrack and fix a mistake I said two minutes ago.

Just writing about this is making me feel stressed! I can feel it unfolding on the phone on a conference call or in a room with a lot of hard stares.

Adding to the stress is usually the slow realization, during questioning, that I may have completely missed something or screwed something up royally. Or that forgetting about something that has now come back to bite me. Stress goes up, my breathing gets way out of whack, and I’m stuttering all over the place.

Breathe.

But like I said. I usually try to stay organized and prepared so that I don’t have to go through an ambush interrogation. The stress stays at a nice low level. I can breathe. I can let my words out slowly. I can focus on the content versus whatever small stutter I do encounter.

Filed Under: Stuttering on Lately, Work Tagged With: , , ,
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