Dear Auntie Agni,
I have recently completed my intermediate. I really appreciate you for giving the right and serious advice to those who need it badly. Since I was two or three years old, I have suffered from stammering. I would refuse to give presentations in class whenever my teachers asked me to. Now I am now 18 years old and don’t stammer as badly as I did in my childhood, but sometimes during my conversations I stammer and I feel very bad about it. Please guide me on how can I eliminate this problem permanently. I have noticed that whenever I become nervous, I stammer. It may be because of my low confidence level. Now I am worried how I will manage in university where students are required to give presentations.
Stammerer

Dear You-can-do-it,
Stammering is a fairly common problem, which, as you have discovered in your case, usually improves with age. Apart from professional speech therapy, which you should definitely seek out, there are some simple things you can do to control your stammering.

You probably know a lot of this, but I will say it anyway. One of the most effective ways to avoid stuttering is to not talk fast. For that, it is necessary to breathe and slow down when you talk. Another thing you can do is to practice talking with friends and family members who you are comfortable with. You will feel more at ease if you practice speech in a safe environment and this should help build your confidence. This, coupled with speech therapy should eventually give you good results.

‘I want to control my stammering, please help’

Public speaking makes a lot of people nervous, even those who don’t stammer. However, the best way to deal with something challenging is to take it head on, rather than avoid it. So don’t avoid the opportunity to speak publicly when it presents itself. The best tip I can give for public speaking for someone who stammers (and also for those who don’t!) is to be super-prepared. Go over the material that you need to present several times, so that you know it really well. You’ll worry less about your stammer if you really know what you are saying. Avoid writing out a speech and reading it out because, in all likelihood, that is probably not what your course leader is looking for. Also, there is nothing more boring than a speech that is read off a piece of paper without engaging the audience. Instead, prepare slides for your presentation and use them smartly. Don’t just read off them. Use them as triggers for what you have to say and then practice, practice, practice in front of a mirror or in front of a friend several times.

Finally, know that even if you end up stammering in front of a lot of people or even while talking one-on-one with a friend, it is okay. It really is. A lot of your audience members are reasonable people, who understand that everyone has problems. If someone laughs at you, just tell yourself that the person lacks social skills and doesn’t know any better. They need to evolve and the problem lies with them, not you.

Public speaking makes a lot of people nervous, even those who don’t stammer. However, the best way to deal with something challenging is to take it head on, rather than avoid it.

Most people sitting in the audience will want to see you succeed in your presentation and you should be okay. And even if you end up stammering through the presentation, it is still okay.

Auntie will not reply privately to any query. Please send concise queries to: auntieagni@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, November 11th, 2018