Make Room For The Stuttering

Being Direct About Stuttering

Posted by: on: August 17, 2015

I had a good experience last week with someone who was meeting me for the first time. During our conversation, I was stuttering quite well.

After several moments of really good stuttering, she leaned in and asked me how did I want her to respond when I was stuttering. She said, “you don’t want me to finish your words, right?” I said no, that I preferred to finish my own thoughts.

We talked about that for a moment. I told her people often guess wrong when they try to finish my thought and it’s just more respectful to let me finish. After all, it only takes a few extra seconds.

I thanked her for asking and bringing it up. I let her know I also appreciated her keeping good eye contact and staying present with me. I was so pleased with her interest and willingness to talk about stuttering.

Have you ever had someone ask you so directly how best to respond while your stuttering?

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2 Responses to "Being Direct About Stuttering"

1 | Suzanne Tubman
August 18, 2015 at 4:43 AM

That sounds really positive Pam, she sounds like a nice lady. It’s good when people are respectful and direct with it. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences recently where people haven’t been so nice, its really hurtful.

2 | mo
October 26, 2015 at 5:14 AM

This was very interesting for me to read. I am not a stutterer but am interested in warm, respectful human interaction. I was grateful to read your understanding and needs in this interaction because sadly, I’m afraid to admit that my instinct would have been to do probably look away during moments of stuttering and to finish words. Thank you.

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© Pamela A Mertz and Make Room For The Stuttering, 2009 - 2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pamela A Mertz and Make Room For The Stuttering with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Same protection applies to the podcasts linked to this blog, "Women Who Stutter: Our Stories" and "He Stutters: She Asks Him." Please give credit to owner/author Pamela A Mertz 2022.
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