4-Tips to overcome stuttering
4-Tips to overcome stuttering: During our recent McGuire Programme – Beyond Stuttering course in Las Vegas, I was approached by some hotel guests (strangers to us) in the hotel where we were doing our training who were very curious and asked what we were doing. As we are always up for a speaking challenge, we never miss an opportunity to engage in conversation with complete strangers. And this turned out to be beneficial to everyone as I shared tips to overcome stuttering.
The hotel guests were fascinated to learn that all these people they’ve seen practising and working on their speech, were in fact, people who stutter, working on becoming better speakers and articulate communicators.
Is this programme a cure for stuttering?
“Is it a cure?” one asked, I explained that there is no cure for stuttering but there is a way to overcome the freezing, struggle, distortion, tricks and avoidance that people who stutter generally experience. People who have decided ‘enough is enough’ and really wanted to do something about their stutter, join our programme and get to learn new tools/techniques to overcome the fear of stuttering and become better than normal fluent speakers. It’s truly life-changing for many of our members who put in the required time and effort needed to overcome stuttering.
Are you a speech pathologist?
“So you are a speech pathologist?” another asked. I explained that we are not speech pathologists, rather we are a group of people working on speaking tools and learning techniques to help us, and at the same time we are helping and supporting each other. We’ve been there and done that, we’ve lived a life of a stutterer and now know what it takes to defeat the freezing, struggle, distortion, tricks and avoidances.
I also mentioned that most of the members have been through traditional speech therapy (both one-to-one and group sessions), with little or no lasting results. And mentioned that some speech therapists recommend checking out the McGuire Programme to their clients and these clients were thrilled to have found us and now enjoy the many benefits of being a member of the programme.
What tips do you have for someone who stutters?
“So what are the tips for someone who stutters?” another hotel guest asked. I paused and reflected and told them that there are so many factors involved in having a stutter and living with a stutter and trying to overcome it! And explained that it is hard to pin down but for someone who has learned good speaking tools/techniques, using the ‘basic cycle of speaking’ is the best tip I can recommend. And on our programme, this is referred to as ‘PAUSE-BREATHE-SPEAK-RELEASE‘.
On the McGuire Programme – Beyond Stuttering, ‘PAUSE-BREATHE-SPEAK-RELEASE‘ is also known as the basic cycle of speech or as the ‘mini-checklist’. Each section of the checklist is broken down into many components that make up each part of the basic cycle. It would require a lengthy explanation of each component but we would recommend reading the Beyond Stuttering Book or listening to the audiobook.
Dave McGuire has narrated the entire book and here is the section dedicated to the Basic Cycle of Speech. Dave explains all the components of the checklist in great detail. I would recommend taking a deep dive into each component and hear it for yourself from the founder of the McGuire Programme.
Can we join your program to improve our public speaking skills?
The group of guests who approached me were so impressed and had many more questions they wanted to know and they asked if they could join us to improve their own public speaking skills – how wonderful was that! My advice to them all was to PAUSE-BREATHE-SPEAK-RELEASE!
We will be sharing more tips to overcome stuttering in future posts. Overcome stuttering with us and learn more tips to overcome stuttering!
Have you avoided situations because you are afraid of stuttering while speaking? Do you struggle to get certain words out? Get in touch with us today and change your life around and improve your public speaking skills at the same time.
Our regional directors are your first point of contact for people who stutter. Get in touch with your local representative today.
Around the world, our Regional Directors run the Programme in their respective regions. They organise Courses, Support Groups and Open Nights – among many other events and happenings related to helping people who stutter.
We are very happy to answer any questions you may have so please don’t hesitate to contact us.
