Hi there! Daniele Rossi here, co-founder of Stutter Social. In my spare time, I produce the Stuttering is Cool podcast and recently I've featured a seven-part series interviewing our awesome Stutter Social hosts asking them to share their go-to methods for stuttering survival and resilience.It can be very difficult to live with stuttering every day and there's no cure. So the best thing we all collectively agree upon is building up resilience to fears of stuttering one small step at a time. Plus, hanging out with others who stutter.
Many thanks to the Stutter Social hosts for sharing their tips! Links to each of the interviews are below.
Part 1 – The phone, dating, jobs, small talk
You’re making a phone call and growing more anxious about stuttering with each ring. What do you do? Learning telephone survival tips and mastering other speaking situations in dating, job interviews, small talk, even body language and overtly stuttering your name can help! I chat with Christine Dits who share these methods which help her deal with stuttering and building resilience. We also talk about introvert and extroverts who stutter and where they get their energy in social situations.
Part 2 – Show your stutter who’s boss
Hanan Hurwitz explains how there’s no special secret to beating stuttering. Achieving this is unconditional self-acceptance, non-avoidance, non-judgement, and living in the moment. Shame is debilitating. Stuttering isn't your fault. Accept yourself first then others will be able to.
Part 3 – Give yourself permission not to be perfect every day
Annie Bradberry shares the methods she uses to prevent her speech from getting in the way of her life, work, and play. Annie explains how she strives to stutter more cleanly, keeps in mind all the efforts she made over the years, giving yourself permission to stutter and to not to be perfect every day. You can have success again!
Part 4 – Focusing on the positive stuttering experiences
Everything will be alright. Really! Chad Mannisi, shares his tips on how to live a full, rich life in spite of stuttering. For instance, Chad purposely chose to present about stuttering in school to raise awareness and answer questions students might have been afraid to ask; he keeps in mind that no one is truly judging him; he also noticed that fluenters didn't seem to dwell too much when they stumbled on their words so he figured why should he.
Part 5 – Don’t beat yourself up if you have a stuttery day
You’re going to stutter. It’s part of the package. So don’t beat yourself up if you have a stuttery day. That’s the advice from Pamela Mertz. Pamela hid her stuttering for 30 years until one day she had enough. “You’ll lessen the load and anxiety but just being yourself and stuttering openly. And it makes you a more interesting person, more unique”.
Part 6 – Life isn't perfect. Be the best person you can be
Part time host, Elaine Robin, reminds us that nobody is perfect and everyone’s life journey is different. We need to be gentle on ourselves when stuttering happens or when we miss opportunities to advocate or educate. After all, we're only human. Elaine and I also chat about the benefits of facing your fears, positive self-talk, and talking to others who stutter.
Part 7 – You are so much more than your stutter
Nicely completing my Stutter Social interview series, former host, Anita Blom, shares her stuttering survival and resilience tips which includes, talking about your stutter, meeting other stutterers, not comparing yourself to others, and everything is a life lesson.
