Five Tips to Eliminate Stuttering

Many people are on the search for stuttering tips to reduce the amount of stuttering they do on a daily basis. Most of those people are not looking for a cure, but are looking for ways to help them live with their stuttering. These tips are recommendations from real people that have recovered from their stuttering past:

1. Think about the words before you say them. The person you are talking to is not going to make fun of you if you need to take a breath before saying something. Plan the words out in your head before you say them, so you do not have any "dead air" time. Dead air is a pause in speech where the brain is scattering to think of something to say. Patients report dead air as a trigger of stuttering.

2. Break words into syllables. The beginning syllable of a word or sentence is the most difficult part for a stutterer to say. So, practice difficult words, within your own home, by breaking them down into syllables. Practice each syllable on its own before combining the syllables back into the original word.

3. Recognize your feelings about a concept before speaking. Exciting, depressing, or meaningful topics are likely to be triggers of stuttering. Anything that gets you excited will make you stutter more, because you are not remaining calm. Studies show people who stutter become excited more easily when they speak than people who do not stutter. Before you speak on a sensitive topic, determine if you are going to be able to speak without triggering a stuttering episode.

4. Slow down your rate of speech. Speech pathologists believe slowing down the rate of speech is one of the most useful stuttering tips. It is a common mistake to rush through a sentence when you are afraid you are going to stutter. The next time you feel the urge to rush through a word or sentence, try speaking very slowly. This tip correlates with the syllables tip. When you slow down the rate of speech, you can focus on the sounds in the words.

5. Be prepared for people to talk to you. There has probably been a time when a person approached you, and you were not prepared to talk to him or her. You caught yourself stuttering, because you did not know what to say to him or her. Organize a small conversation starter for situations like this one. Starting the conversation is the biggest obstacle, so as long as you have a starter, you should feel comfortable with the rest of the conversation.

These stuttering tips are suggestions from past stutterers. It does not mean there is no hope for you if the tips do not work. You may decide to see a speech pathologist or therapist for more tips and information on stuttering. Tips, suggestions, studies, and therapies will help you control your stuttering problem. However, there is no cure for stuttering, so try as many things as you can to make living with stuttering easier for you.