how did they stop?

[FCB80]

I would consider myself a mild stutterer and recently went back to college. I've just started to really put an effort into speaking more fluently. I hear of all these people who had worse stutters then me (Joe Biden, Bill Walton, John Stossel) and now speak perfectly. My question is HOW? What do I need to do to speak better? What exercises or practices do these people do to speak so well. I know i'll never speak like Bill Clinton but if I can at least get up in front of a group of people and give a speech or presentation without vomitting all over myself I'd feel a thousand times better.

[emily445455]

I know i'll never speak like Bill Clinton .


Lol, actually I don't think you'd want to. He needs to go to speech therapy (if he doesn't already)...he speaks for such extended periods of time that his voice gets hoarse. :p Just a useless piece of info for ya. :cool:

I found that instead of trying to speech more fluent...I have tried to accept my speech.

[maverick75]

I found that instead of trying to speech more fluent...I have tried to accept my speech.


me too , when i try to speak fluently i stutter more and when i don't focus at all i speak more fluent;)

[Derek181]

i think it takes a lota practice.... doing speech exercises every day and also doing a lota transfers. also i think toastmasters is a big help which iam going to join.

[FCB80]

i just picked bill clinton cuz he's someone that is know for giving good speeches....i accept the fact that i can't speak that well now, but i won't accept that this is how i will speak for the rest of my life. i know there is no "cure", but people who at one point in their adult lives spoke much worse than myself now speak really well.....i'm just trying to find out what exactly those people did that evidently worked so well for them. Even if i don't/can't totally eliminate it, at least lessen it as much as possible

[peebee]

Honestly, I believe to overcome stuttering there is no magic pill or device where you just stop stuttering overnight. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication. A big problem with stuttering in my opinion is a stutterers negative opinion of themselves. Growing up with a stutter is extremely frustrating and depressing socially and psychologically. We can carry this huge emotional baggage our entire life and our whole life plans are influenced by our speech. Depending on the degree of your stutter, the harder it is to overcome.

The one reoccurring thing I hear from these great speakers who use to stutter is that they didn't let their stutter get in the way of the life they wanted to live.

[sst]

Growing up with a stutter is extremely frustrating and depressing socially and psychologically. We can carry this huge emotional baggage our entire life and our whole life plans are influenced by our speech. Depending on the degree of your stutter, the harder it is to overcome.

You have such an eloquent way with words. :D

That is exactly what all of us have gone through, and are going through. I admire all these people who can just talk naturally in front of thousands of people, unprepared. That takes a special skill that I don't think can be learned.

Maybe those stutterers who "overcame" their worst stuttering moments, are those types of people who have a natural skill inside them, but had to learn to bring it out. Maybe myself and others aren't meant for that, who knows.