How to deal with stuttering/incoherence?

[mtr]

Yo everyone,

I've noticed that sometimes when I talk to people, specifically when I open conversations, I have some issues with saying what I want to say. It's as if my mouth doesn't want to work for some reason.

As the conversation progresses, the issue goes away, but I don't know why it even exists. It's embarrassed me a few times. Today, it happened in the presence of a female I had hoped to mate with. Which, of course, is an exercise in futility now.

Is there anything I can do to address this so it doesn't happen again?

 

[BigZac]

I've been stuttering nearly all my life, so i know what it's like.

My best advice would be to breathe in and out before you start speaking, and don't rush your speech.

Doing so will only mess you up more.

 

[tape]

if this is somethin that doesnt go away with simple relaxation techniques or is persistin really really badly, you need to go to your GP (would that be the correct one???)

 

[wickdaggler]

I have similar issues sometimes. Really think out what you want to say before you say it, but there isn't much advice I can give you past that.

Also, don't worry too much about embarrassment. People are usually already worried enough about their own appearance and how they're presenting themselves to care too much about you.

 

[San_Pellegrino]

oh man, i used to have this problem! it goes away when you have gain a bunch of confidence and make talking less of a big deal (which comes by talking a lot haha). also, really know where you want the conversation to go, sometimes we get distracted by working out the perfect line, and not knowing what goes after it!

so yeah man, just take as many opportunities as you can to talk, even if you think your voice is silly or whatever, if you have confidence/charisma, people will look at you more, you know...well!

 

[Glen]

i have this problem sometimes, it's definitely a confidence thing. weirdly enough i never really get it in social situations, i'm always fine with meeting/approaching new people, but in professional situations it can really fuck with me before i get comfortable with the job.

i never stutter, for me its more of a like, speaking too fast/slurring kind of thing, so all i can really do is just try my best to stay calm and confident and make an effort to enunciate. i think the best solution is to just talk to more people and get more comfortable in social situations, it's really incredible how big an impact comfort has on things like this.

 

[Layell]

With stuttering and difficulty speaking it goes to say that practice makes perfect. Breathing and posture has a great deal to do with public speaking and just speaking in general. If you fidget and move tend to be unbalanced while talking sometimes you have to just root your feet to the floor. Not every conversation needs to be perfect as well.

If you find yourself beginning to stutter you don’t have to feel bad about stopping and taking a breath. Are you aware of certain words that are difficult to pronounce or topics that get you flustered? I recommend if it’s seriously impeding your communication skills figure out if there are any speech therapists or voice instructors. Figure out settings where you can just talk without worrying about stumbling.

I also had difficulty pronouncing certain letters when I was young, but I do a fair amount of public performances so it’s not impossible, keep at it!

 

[Fishy]

much like glen, i don't so much stutter sometimes as it feels like my tongue can't keep up with the words my brain is processing, and i end up slurring my speech or literally tripping over my words so that i may not sound like i'm saying much of anything.

read things aloud! read all of our posts aloud, controlled, enunciated, spoken with a steady tone. everyone sounds just fine in their heads, but its the aloud part that actually matters most of the time - with determination, confidence, and most certainly comfort (which comes hand in hand with the other two!) you can help yourself better than any physician you may feel compelled to see. just stick your chin up and speak with vigor!

 

[BattleStar]

I can relate to this. I have a mild speech impediment(which makes every think I have some kind of accent) and stutter occasionally. I kind of get offended when others tell me to slow down or flat out tell me that they can't understand me :/

Ironically that is some of the best advice one could give. Just. Slow. Down. It sounds painstakingly slow in your head but it really helps out. A lot of people like us may think we are going clear enough in our head but really it's fats to others.

 

[Minwu]

you're okay on skype tho mtr

 

[ryan]

It's pretty much already been said, but posting to echo this thought: enunciate.

I was in speech and debate in high school and for a year and college, and this was an issue I had a lot of them time when I first started as well as in middle school. If you pause and compose yourself, you will find this sort of go away after a while. I think the biggest issue for me for a long time was definitely one of confidence, and it may very well be the same for you. When you start to notice that you're stuttering or stumbling over your words, just slow down. It helps a lot more than you may think.

 

[mattj]

This is going to sound stupid, but I always flex and stretch my tongue by swallowing and moving it around a bit before speaking. It always helps me. It might be mental though.

 

[Acklow]

In one of the Redwall books, one of the characters deals with stuttering by singing slowly. Eventually he loses his stutter whenever he talks.

 

[popemobile]

I've had this problem my entire life and know exactly how you feel. Usually when I feel a stutter coming on when I'm trying to open a conversation, it's a specific word, so I try to switch to a different word and that solves the problem. Elongating the first syllable also helps.

There are certain words I always stutter, the biggest pain being "hello" when I answer phones (which makes me not want to answer phones). It's easy enough to avoid when a friend calls because you can say whatever you want, but like for a phone interview you just have to tough it out and try your best.

It might be different for you, but for me it's usually specific words so picking a different word to open up a conversation might be easier. Then again I usually only have this problem in formal settings, because it's way easier to just avoid certain words entirely in informal situations. idk you just have to figure out what works for you and go for it.

 

[popemobile]

doing your best to calm yourself down before starting also helps a lot, but obviously if you're already worried about stuttering it will be harder. Sort of a self fulfilling prophecy because you can feel a stutter coming on way before it actually happens.

 

[cookie]

Well the secret to getting over stuttering is to mm-

mmmmmma-

m-m-m-m-m

fuck it

 

[Rowan]

This video shows an interesting technique to help with stuttering. I guess it's kind of related to the rhythmical side of speaking.

 

[Minwu]

also: don't apologize over your speech during a speech

 

[alamaster]

It exists because you're uncomfortable. You gotta convince yourself that whoever you're talking to is a person just like you, with their own insecurities. If you put yourself out there in situations like this more often that can help as well. School can be tough to find people to talk to, but at work its much easier, because people want to socialize to make the time pass quicker. Good luck.

 

[blitzlefan]

Yeah stuttering happens to me too. Often I just speak too fast to the point where either my brain can't keep up and I'm left repeating the same sound a couple times or I trip/slur over words. This happens often because I'm uncomfortable/nervous as well, so a big thing to do is just to calm down and slow your words down. Also, just keep in mind that stuttering is nothing to be ashamed of! When I mess up, I just laugh and say "God, how do you even words???!!" or something like that and continue on. Just as long as you can treat it's like it's no big deal and move past it with confidence it shouldn't be too much of an issue. :)

 

[Brambane]

I've discovered that I notice my stuttering during speeches more than my audience does. It is largely, if not entirely, self-conscious.

 

[whistle]

think of the syllables you want to speak before you speak them; tell yourself to slow down and enunciate each syllable carefully. chances are you'll still sound normal when the words actually come out instead of like a robot. imagine yourself using exaggerated facial expressions/mouth movements while speaking (don't actually do them unless you want to look like a fool). best of luck in procuring a female with whom to mate.

 

[MildishCinccino]

Do an exercise in trying to sharpen your communication skills and wit by having someone bring up a topic and try to elaborate and converse as quickly (not actual speed but rather response) as you can. Been doing this since I was in middle school and now I'm razor sharp and can play off very little.

 

[His Eminence Lord Poppington II]

practising freestyling helps a lot. just start rappin to yourself in the shower and improve your flow

 

[Venom]

I stuttered since I was a child and to this day I still do it, I just now change words up in the middle of where I feel like I'm gonna stutter and I can't pronounce the word to where one where I can. I can actually feel it coming. I don't do it all the time but for some reason I do it when I get nervous. When I was younger other kids used to make fun of me, which caused me really to turn into a violent kid and start hitting people who used to mock me. Looking back, people don't understand how serious this is. It still bothers me that I stutter and I look into it all the time, because sometimes I wonder if its linked to my quick fuse or some shit.

A few positives from stuttering for me is that it really help me build a base in my confidence more, it expanded my vocabulary, and yeah, your rapping will go through the roof.