Posts Tagged ‘stuttering courage’
There Is No Perfect
Posted on: April 28, 2015
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I read a post on a stuttering forum about a woman who has been asked to record a training video for her job.
She was asked to make this promotional video because she is good at her job and has a great attitude.
She posted that she really wanted to make the video but is afraid of “messing up” since her speech has been “really bad” lately. She said she wouldn’t want to do the video and have it turn out less than perfect.
Several people replied, encouraging her to take the chance and do it. Several other people wished her good luck and that they hoped she has good speech on the day of the recording.
I replied as well, encouraging her to do it and to be happy with her efforts no matter how her speech is on that given day. I said that imperfect people will probably be encouraged by seeing someone who isn’t perfect either.
None of us are perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. Especially when it comes to the speech of people who stutter.
It has taken me a long time to believe this, for I grew up under the burden of trying to be a perfectionist in order to compensate for my speech. I thought if I was perfect at everything else, my stuttered speech wouldn’t be noticed and judged.
I was afraid of the judgement. If I didn’t sound perfect, I feared people would judge me negatively. Some did, as evidenced by the teasing and mimicking I tolerated growing up. Hell, I’ve been teased and mocked as an adult.
But I’ve slowly learned to shed the drive to be perfect. I think I am in recovery.
We can use all the tools and techniques we have to shape our speech into fluent speech. But if we stutter, we’re going to stutter. That’s all there is to it.
I hope the woman asked to do the video does it and stutters well. She doesn’t have to be perfect.
There is no perfect.
A Moment Of Courage
Posted on: February 26, 2014
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At a recent Stutter Social Hangout, I had the chance to witness a powerful moment of courage. It was two weeks ago, but the impact still resonates.
Real quick, a hangout is a virtual group video chat where up to 10 people can talk with each other about stuttering, or anything for that matter.
I host a Hangout every other Sunday, which lasts for 90 minutes. People are free to “come in” when they can, and stay as long as they wish. There are no time pressures.
As a host, I try to welcome people as they come in, and if they are new, facilitate introductions, just like we would at a real-time support group.
As we know, introductions can be very stressful for those of us who stutter. The pressure may be magnified for some because we use microphones and video.
A newcomer, Sydney, joined the hangout and during a lull, I welcomed her and asked her to introduce herself to the group of about 8.
Sydney found herself in a mighty, stubborn block as she attempted to say her name and where she was from. We could see her effort and struggle as she stopped and started several times. The darn block was digging in its heels. Sydney stayed with it, for several minutes, and maintained eye contact and a smile.
You could feel the energy of the 8 of us who waited for Sydney. That energy seemed to fuel Sydney as she stayed courageously in the moment and waited out the block and she told us her name and where she is from.
Sydney smiled, we all smiled and we carried on in conversation.
What a moment of courage! Maybe not to the average person who doesn’t stutter, but it was. A powerful moment of courage and self-truth.
It would have been so easy for Sydney to give in and not stay with it. But at that moment, Sydney showed the rest of us a quiet moment of grit, persistence and courage. And she won – not that darn block!
I was glad I was there to see it. Go Sydney!
(Author’s note: Sydney gave me permission to write about this and to use her name.)
Taking On Courage
Posted on: March 19, 2013
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It’s amazing to see how many people who stutter are using social media to bolster their confidence and speaking skills.
The rise of Facebook groups for the stuttering community has really spurred people to take and create more opportunities to share a little about themselves in ways that were previously off-limits.
This evening, I strolled over to Stuttering Arena (on Facebook – a closed group with over 14oo members!) and watched several videos of people introducing themselves and stuttering openly on camera. This trend has been going on for months, but I usually don’t have time to watch and listen to more than one or two.
I think it’s amazing that people are taking these risks to open up and share.
It takes a lot of courage to record yourself stuttering and posting it publicly on a social media site.
Kudos to those of you doing so! If you haven’t, would you consider it?
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