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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 10 Oct 2010
Time: 20:43:02 -0500
Remote Name: 72.64.101.29
Hi Hannah, I hope I did as good a job on my paper as you did on yours. That was truly outstanding! Covert stuttering is a VERY difficult concept to grasp. .... Yes, it's difficult to convince people who stutter that fluent people can be terrified of public speaking too. And when they see you speaking up in front of a group, obviously facing your fears, that really CAN be inspiring. It took me a long time to realize that, but that's true. We have such a warped perception of our own speech, we lose perspective on how others perceive us. It's taken me decades to finally understand that. Like your friend who put himself in a truly frightening position (at least for him) to advocate for a cause he truly believed in - that's inspiring! I wish more people who stutter would do that. And once you get used to it, it's really pretty easy. The trick is to do it as much as you can. I still stutter at least 500 times a day (but with minimal struggles), but it honestly doesn't bother me any more. And I'm asked to speak to many groups, so it's obvious my audience doesn't care either. What a deal! .... Take care and I hope to see you in Ft. Worth next summer. Russ