Stammer or stammering can have a dramatic effect on somebodys
confidence.
Fluent people really can not comprehend how hard it is to live
your life with a speech impediment or stammer.
I run one to one speech courses in Birmingham and one of my
clients once told me about a situation he was involved in. He
and his friends went to a bar one Saturday afternoon to have a
few drinks. After a couple of pints he went up to the bar to
order himself a drink. Unfortunately he could not speak all of
the words fluently and the bar man accused him of being drunk
and refused to serve him. He tried to explain that he was not
drunk but had a stammer but the bar man said "That's what they
all say"
He returned to his friends who asked him where his drink was. He
told them what had happened, this itself was very embarressing.
His friends were very supportive and one of them went to the bar
and bought him a drink. Everything was fine until the barman saw
him drinking this drink. He stormed over and asked him to leave
the pub saying:
"I told you that I did not want you drinking anymore alcohol,
now get out"
His friends tried to explain to the barman about the stammer and
were eventually thrown out of the pub aswell.
This is a typical situation people who have a stammer find
themselves in.
Stammering can make progress in a career difficult. Being able
to obtain employment is hard enough, attending an interview with
a stammer is not easy. Many people who have a speech impediment
find using a telephone a choir and most careers need the
employee to have good communication skills.
Other areas of life are also made to be a struggle, for example
when I had a stammer I found it difficult to order things like
drinks, form relationships with the opposite sex, converse with
friends and meeting new people. For whatever reason I also found
my stammer to be at its worst when I was tired.
I am now happy that I have overcome the stammer that had made my
life a struggle for eighteen years.
About the author:
Stephen Hill promotes a number of websites including:
stuttering
anger
management resources
meditation
symptom
