Breathe deeply for a few minutes until you feel relaxed, and do breathing exercises regularly to reduce your anxiety. Becoming more relaxed can also boost your confidence, making speaking easier without stuttering.
Try a similar exercise called “prolongation,” where you drag out the first syllable of each word. Speak smoothly and calmly, focusing on pronouncing every syllable clearly. Don’t worry if you stutter during each exercise. The point isn’t speaking flawlessly; it’s learning to remain calm when you speak. When practicing these exercises around someone else, let them know what you’re doing and explain that their patience would really help curb your anxiety.
During each pause, take a moment to clear your head if your nerves are improving. Take a breath and think about what comes next before continuing. Start reading from a book you know well. Then, choose a book you haven’t read before once you’re comfortable. This allows you to practice reciting unexpected words.
Mindful meditation helps to clear your thoughts; when you’re done, you can focus fully on whatever speaking exercises you want to try. Be kind to yourself! It’s okay if you have trouble paying attention at first. Don’t get angry or frustrated; just refocus and keep trying.
Practice this by yourself at first. Then, when you’re comfortable with it, start doing this with friends or family at home.
This makes your practice sessions productive and fun! You could also tap your foot to the beat to feel the song’s rhythm a little better.
If you’re a little nervous and want to start slow, try practicing over the phone with someone. Phone calls are less intimidating because you’re not face-to-face.
Focus on practicing your opening and closing statements; if you start strong, you’re more likely to carry that confidence through the speech and end with a bang! Don’t be afraid to slow down in the middle of a speech. When your mind and mouth are out of sync, it’s easy to stumble over your words. Start speaking slowly and over-articulate each word to get back on track. Ask a friend to listen to you speak so you can practice with an audience, or take a video recording of the entire speech to analyze it and make changes when necessary.
Analyze the recording with your friends and family as well. They may notice things about your speech pattern that you don’t and help you address those issues. It’s okay to start slow if the sound of your voice brings you anxiety. Try focusing on the positive side of things, and remember that you’re making progress!
Both children and adults can benefit from speech therapy! If you need help finding a speech therapist, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has a list of resources to help. Remember that speech therapy can be a long process. You may be working with your therapist for several months. Stay patient and follow the therapist’s advice to ensure therapy is effective.
However, it’s important to note that many of these devices are still being researched and developed. While they may help you, more research is needed to determine their overall effectiveness. If your doctor feels a device may help, ask them (or a speech-language pathologist) to help choose the best one for you.
If you’re in the United States, the National Stuttering Association has local support groups. In the UK, the British Stammering Association also hosts support groups. If you’re in another country, look for local stuttering support groups online, and don’t hesitate to ask someone for help in your search.
Check in with your child regularly. Ask them how they feel about the stutter and encourage them to express self-confidence, but switch to simple “yes” or “no” questions if you notice them struggle to speak.
Ask your child’s speech therapist if there are other specific techniques you can model for them at home. The therapist will likely have some helpful input!
Showing patience will help your child or loved one slow down, relax, and learn to speak without stuttering. Remember that this is a process, and they’ll need your long-term support to make progress. Stay positive and offer praise to empower them as they learn to be calm and well-spoken despite the stutter.
Simply say: “Please excuse me if I speak slowly, I have a stutter. " Most people will be super accepting; if someone isn’t, then that’s on them, not you.
Make a list of synonyms for your trigger words. There are probably tons of words out there that you can use instead, so grab a thesaurus and familiarize yourself with them. For instance, if a word like “comfortable” is a trigger, you can swap it with “cozy. "
This’ll boost your confidence over time, which will reduce your stutter, too.
This technique is especially useful if you give a public presentation. When planning your speech, also plan out some hand motions that help reduce your stutter. Note down on your script where you’ll use these hand motions.
Begin a conversation by introducing yourself and saying, “I stutter and I’m working to improve my speech. ” You will probably find many people who are eager to help you. Asking people for directions is a good, fast exercise. Even if you know the way, this allows you to interact with people without asking them to engage in a full conversation.
