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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 10/8/02
Time: 12:43:52 PM
Remote Name: 12.237.31.119
Hi Candace,
You have some excellent thoughts. Let me tell you my experiences...
Right after I joined Toastmasters in 1988, I got a copy of John Harrison's book "How to Conquer Your Fears of Speaking Before People." A truly remarkable book - and fun! Yes, it was written for people who stutter, but I have conducted several workshops in Toastmasters on this topic and even used this book. And I found that at least 95% of that book applies to everyone, not just people who stutter. Even my fluent friends have enjoyed it. They share almost the exact same fears we do. That's very important for a person who stutters to understand. We are NOT alone in our fears of public speaking!
Several years ago an NSA member came up with an idea for introducing public speaking to an NSA chapter. He called it the Situational Speaking Program, or SSP. Many NSA chapters used it and it was good. But upon closer examination, it was VERY close to the Toastmasters Basic Communication and Leadership program - but without the wide recognition. The inventor readily admitted he knew nothing about Toastmasters and had actually just reinvented the wheel. Amazing... So as more and more people who stutter have actually joined Toastmasters, the SSP has died away.
The bottom line is that there is virtually no difference between teaching public speaking to people who stutter and teaching it to fluent people too. It's really funny that way. I've kind of stumbled into forming a Toastmasters club from the members of my Dallas NSA chapter. We all stutter. And the growth these people have had is absolutely amazing. They've earned CTM's (Competent Toastmaster rank), some advanced ranks, and a number of us have even won speaking contests. It's wonderful to watch what they can do on a LEVEL playing field. Our club is very well respected in the North Texas Toastmaster District and we're probably the most stuttering-knowledgeable district in the world. We've been recognized personally by five Presidents of Toastmasters International and we even had one come to our NSA conference to address the entire conference in Anaheim. Toastmasters, being interested in communication in the first place (or they wouldn't even be in Toastmasters) are wonderfully supportive people. People who stutter fit right.
Now... all that wonderful stuff being said, I realize that Toastmasters is NOT for everyone. My wife, a perfectly fluent speaker, just HATES the thought of standing up in front of a bunch of people to talk. And I've learned (believe me!) NOT to push her! Some people just do NOT like public speaking, and that's okay. I don't like snake handling or sky diving either, and that's okay. We should all respect our individual differences.
One of the primary goals of an NSA chapter is to provide an atmosphere where stuttering - however severe - is allowed. We listen respectfully while each person speaks and listen to WHAT he is saying, not HOW he is saying it. We make NO suggestions on how a person can improve his or her fluency. We are there for support, not therapy. (Fluency is over-hyped anyway.) We simply provide a friendly environment where a person who stutters can practice (or not) any therapy he wants to. Typically once he begins to speak in such an environment, he begins to "come out of his shell" and the progress in improved communication (stuttering or not) is remarkable. It's wonderful to watch this transformation.
But public speaking requires PRACTICE above anything else. Simply reading a book or learning some techniques just doesn't cut it. Even intensive workshops such as Dale Carnegie (a very good, but expensive course) wears off quickly if you don't practice it week in and week out. Toastmasters provides such an opportunity at ridiculously low rates. It's the best bargain in town - averaging about a dollar a week.
I hope I've answered your question, Candace. If you want to talk more about this, please give me a holler at russhicks@mail.com!
Thanks for stopping by!
Russ