7 Easy-To-Follow Tips That Will Help You Stop Stuttering
It’s no secret that most people have insecurities. These are simply characteristics of ourselves that we are self-conscious about.
For example, some people aren’t as tall as they would like to be, while other people hate the color of their hair, while someone else might feel highly insecure about the shape of their nose.
Stuttering is something that often causes embarrassment. Fortunately, there are tips you can practice to stop stuttering. If you or a loved one is experiencing embarrassment or anxiety due to stuttering, it’s important to get the help you need. Click here to schedule a free introductory call with Great Speech. This way, you will know you are addressing fluency concerns in the most effective way possible – and improving your quality of life.
This article takes a look at speech therapy for stuttering. Keep reading to discover our 7 easy to follow tips to help get rid of stuttering, and start communicating with ease and confidence.
1. Relaxation
When you have a stutter, it tends to make you feel self-conscious about interacting with others, and this typically leads to inner tension. It’s important to keep in mind that this tension you’re experiencing is not your friend. In fact, it will only make things worse.
And yet relaxation is key for freeing both your mind and body. When you’re body is free of tension, this will create a more natural flow of breath, enabling speech to flow more freely as well.
Focusing on relaxing takes helps the mind to not focus on speech, thus reducing self-consciousness regarding your stutter.
Relaxing practices such as mindfulness and meditation can be tremendously beneficial. Meditating is a great way to clear your mind, reduce anxiety and stress, all of which can significantly reduce the tension that leads to speech issues.
2. Articulation
Learning not to stutter can be frustrating because it feels out of your control. And yet it’s actually not a terribly complicated process. One of the most important aspects of improving speech disorders is to learn to manipulate the way you produce sounds.
This is largely accomplished by the way you manipulate your mouth. After all, your mouth is a major part of your speaking mechanism. Articulation exercises help you focus on the muscles of your mouth so that you have greater control over your facial movements, resulting in improved control of the way you speak.
The key is learning to be intentional rather than simply falling into the habit of patterned speech rhythms. We are creatures of habit, after all. Thus we have to break old habits in order to replace them with better habits. Speech habits are no different.
In other words, focusing on correcting your mechanism for the way you make sounds orally, and that’s exactly what will happen.
3. Focus On Your Voice and Breathing
The way you breathe is incredibly important. This is true on many levels. That’s why meditation teaches us to focus on the breath. The seemingly simple act of observing your breathing process has the ability to alter the mind, reduce stress, and provide your mind and body with peace.
Focusing on your breath can also be very helpful in improving the way you speak.
One of the primary impediments to proper speech is shallow breathing coming from the top of your vocal cords. This results in blocks and repetitions in breathing, creating a never-ending cycle that will continue until the cycle is broken.
Concentrate on being as still as you can. Take a deep breath, hold it for a moment, and then slowly release it. You can close your eye if you like, but it isn’t necessary. The key is to consciously relax away from the thoughts that created anxiety. This is incredibly important because your anxiety leads directly to your stutter response.
4. Record Yourself
Most people spend their entire day speaking without giving a thought to how they sound. And yet listening to the sound of your own voice can be extremely educational.
It can also shine a light on things you might never have noticed. This is especially true of people that stutter.
Recording yourself might make you feel uncomfortable, but it’s also a very useful tool. Hearing the sound of your own voice might be startling at first, yet it will show you the patterns of speech that are likely totally unconscious. This allows you to study such patterns and then work to make adjustments.
As you record yourself, keep a diary. Then as you work on your breathing and consciously manipulate the muscles of your throat, mouth, and face to speak differently, you’ll be able to track your progress.
You won’t need any special equipment. In fact, your smartphone is the perfect device for this practice. And you can record yourself any time of day, for a few seconds or a few minutes. Then play it back and study what you hear.
5. Acting
When it comes to ending your stutter, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no miracle cure or magic pill you can take. But there are tools that can be used in order to break the pattern.
Believe it or not, acting is one of them. Acting allows you to become someone without a stuttering problem. This will enable you to step outside yourself so that you can shift your perspective.
Speech therapy is another crucial tool for overcoming your stutter. At Great Speech, we can treat a wide range of speech and language disorders including pediatric and adult stuttering. Reach out today and schedule a free introductory call to get started in your customized online speech therapy program.
6. Put Yourself Into Social Situations
While you might typically avoid social situations because of your stutter, interacting socially is actually a great way to become more comfortable with yourself. Use the tools you’ve been working with to relax and engage people in conversation.
Just remember that withdrawing and avoiding social interactions will only work against you.
7. Find Accountability Partners
You don’t have to go through this alone. Look for good accountability partners. These are people who can offer you support while also pushing you to improve yourself and to put yourself out in the world rather than hiding from it.
A Guide to Tips to Help You Stop Stuttering
Most people take the sound of their voice for granted. But it can be a major source of insecurity for those with a stuffer. Fortunately, these tips for how to stop stuttering can help boost your confidence so that you can live your best life.
Stuttering can impact the way you communicate at work, with friends, and the people closest to you in your life. Stuttering can be really frustrating, especially when it doesn’t seem to improve over time. The best way to make a lifelong, effective communication improvement is to work with a licensed speech pathologist. Click here to schedule a complimentary call with Great Speech to start your program with a specialized online speech therapist today.
