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From: Sophie
Date: 10/18/02
Time: 6:16:00 PM
Remote Name: 165.247.25.143
Thank you for your comments and helpful suggestions.
I couldn't agree with you more. I have often thought that if I could only forget about my speech indefinitely, perhaps it would improve. Unfortunately, I have also found that the more I try to forget about my speech, the more I end up thinking about it.
In response to your question, here are some things I try to do to avoid stuttering:
1. Convince myself that it's okay to stutter and that it doesn't matter how I sound.
2. Scan ahead for words that I might stutter on, and then substitute different words or not say that thought at all.
3. Stick in filler words or sounds (e.g., uh, um) until I think the potentially troublesome word will come out smoothly.
4. Pretend I'm thinking of the right word or of the right way to say something until I'm comfortable that the word I think I'll have trouble saying will come out okay.
Number 1 above rarely ever works. Numbers 2 through 4 often enable me to sound somewhat normal, although I find the emotional turmoil that results is not really worth it.
Thank you again for your thoughts, and I hope I've answered your question. If not, I'll happily try again.
All the best, Sophie