Voluntary Stuttering

By Geoff Johnston, Regional Director, The McGuire Programme (Aust)

(as printed in the Australian Speak Easy Association’s magazine Speaking Free)

Stuttering on Purpose

Stuttering on Purpose? You must be crazy! Geoff’s getting senile in his old age! Why would I ever do something that I’ve been trying to avoid all of my life!

Many of us have spent our lives trying very hard to be fluent, to NOT stutter! Has it worked for you? If yes, well done and good luck to you. However, I suspect for the rest of us, it has failed dismally! If this is true for you, please read on.

The psychological model System Theory tells us that if we zero in on our ultimate goal (ie fluency) we can in fact make things worse because we deny the complexity (feelings, emotions, thinking processes, and context) in which stuttering arises; e.g. you can’t pursue happiness directly but rather we do things that may result in happiness long-term.

The old saying that “only a fool continues to do what one has always done and expects a different result” is true with our stuttering behaviour. If what you’ve been doing isn’t moving you forward to your satisfaction why not take a risk and do something different?

There are many things you could try but the topic of this article is about voluntary stuttering or deliberate dysfluency as we call it on the McGuire Programme. I personally prefer to call it “fun stuttering” because it defines the attitude we must apply to the strategy; i.e. have some fun with it.

Voluntary stuttering is not new. In fact it’s been around since the early 1950’s with Joseph Sheehan and Charles Van Riper. I put to you however, that the psychology behind it is still valid today.

A good part of the reason we stutter is “holding back” behaviour, being torn between the desire to express ourselves freely and the fear that if we try to do that we’ll stutter and be perceived by others as abnormal, incompetent, disabled, whatever.

We spend our lives pretending, trying to present ourselves to the world as fluent speakers. Whether we like it or not, by doing that we’re not being true to ourselves. We aren’t fluent speakers. We’re people who stutter and assertive acceptance of that fact will release us from the anxieties that get in our way of improving our speech. Please note that I’m not saying we just accept that we stutter and give up trying to do anything about it. I’m saying that at this point in our lives we do stutter for complex reasons of which anxiety plays a part but we may have an action plan to change that over time.

Denial and avoidance are the things that fuel and perpetuate the stuttering behaviour. By not being true to ourselves as a person who stutters, we create confusion within ourselves and hence the holding back of emotions and our speech leading to stuttering.

The fear that we might stutter and make fools of ourselves is always there.

How then can we release ourselves from the fear of stuttering, the denial, the avoidance? How can we project to the world the true person? How can we unmask ourselves and look the world squarely in the eye rather than dropping our gaze and avoiding eye contact?

By doing the thing we most fear. By stuttering on purpose, the main difference being that we control the stutter rather than allowing it to control us! To overcome any phobia, and I believe that stuttering is essentially a social phobia, we need to face our fear and do exactly what we’re afraid of. We need to “kiss the dragon” if you like.

Stuttering on purpose achieves a number of benefits including being in control of our speech and desensitizing ourselves to the reactions of people when we do stutter.

Are you game enough to give it a go? If you are, I promise you it will be one of the bravest things you’ve ever done. The benefits though are enormous and will show you that controlling your fear and anxiety around speaking situations is achievable.

HOWEVER, it must be done correctly with the following technique.

To voluntary stutter by just r-r-r-r-repeating the first sound with almost certainly result in a real uncontrolled block. The technique is to say the first sound of the word assertively then release all your air, pause for around two seconds, then take a big breath and say the entire word assertively.

By P … release … pause … big breath … practising this form of V… release … pause … big breath … voluntary stuttering with a great smile on your face you show your listener that you’re very much in control.

Drop a couple of those at the start of a feared conversation and the fear will drain away. You’ve “disclosed” right up front that you have a speech problem so there’s no need to try to hide it anymore. You can then be the true self! The emotional release is enormous.

Just who are we doing this for? Not our listener. We’re doing it for ourselves. Giving ourselves permission to be who we are!

Another method of voluntary stuttering is called the slide or long hit and hold. This method involves ssssssssaying the first sound of a word and holding that sound for say wwwwun  second and then fffffffffinish the word. It must be done assertively with “attitude”. It’s not a method I personally favour or use because I think it’s not overt enough. The success of voluntary stuttering is all about disclosing and demonstrating to your listener that YOU AREN’T a fluent speaker so then you can stop trying to be one.

McGuiries world-wide via our email discussion group arrange several times a year to have a DD Day. People contract with each other to do 1,000 deliberate dysfluencies within a nominated 24 hour period. People who achieve the goal feel bullet-proof for weeks after!

So there it is…a short description of voluntary stuttering. Are you game enough to give it a go? And not just once or twice. Like any skill you need to practise it to be able to use it effectively.

Above all, choose to be in control and have some FUN with it!

Geoff Johnston
Email:

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Read Anna Margolina’s response to this article. She adds some really helpful information as to how to use Voluntary Stuttering to your benefit.

In response to Geoff Johnston’s article entitled “The Great Benefits of Stuttering on Purpose”, Anna Margolina posted the following E-Mail:

Hi, Geoff,

This is a very good and and a very well written article. To those two methods of voluntary stuttering that you describe, I would like to add the one I used. I tried to imitate my own stuttering as close as possible. In order to do this, I had to observe exactly what I was doing. By the way tomorrow, I am going to speak as a guest speaker at a demo Toastmaster meeting and I will start my speech with a close imitation of my stuttering.

To me the fact that I was able to do this – to reproduce exactly what I did during the real block – was one of the evidences that brought me to the understanding that my stuttering was caused by behavior and not something physical that was a permanent condition. I realized that the cause of my stuttering came from something I had learned in my childhood and not something that happened involuntary. I used this Voluntary Stuttering also to shun away the real blocks. When I felt like blocking, I jumped ahead and did it intentionally. When I did this, the tension I felt would go away and I had significantly less blocking. I don’t do this anymore, but at some point it was something that started the positive change in my speech.

Anna

Qualities that Make a Powerful Difference

Bob Bodenhamer, D.Min.

Pour la traduction française, cliquez ici (PDF)

In order to do anxiety, we must focus on the object of anxiety. For, if we stop focusing on the object of our anxiety and look at something that is not anxiety, we will not be anxious, will we? Gestalt psychology learned something quite remarkable several years ago. They learned that when we focus on something, there are items in the picture that we do not see. When you create a picture of an upcoming event that requires speaking and you fear you will block, what is it that you focus on?  But, what is in the background of that picture that you are not seeing?

Experiment a little. Think of the next time you will probably block.  In all likelihood you will have a picture of the person/ situation of that block. Note where in reference to your eyes that you see that person/situation. In all likelihood that picture will be right in front of you and it is all that you are looking at. Now, what are you not seeing?  What?  Yes, what is in that picture that you are not seeing?  You are so focused on the person or context that you are afraid will trigger your blocking that you don’t see anything else. Step back from that person/context and see behind it, beside it, beyond it, etc. What else is out there that you were not seeing at first?

In order to “step back,” go into peripheral vision.  When we focus on something to the exclusion of everything else, that is called “foveal” vision.  Now, just step back, go into peripheral vision and see everything off to each side but do more.  Not only look to each side, but look and see what is behind the picture of the block. Allow your eyes to go beyond the image of the block. What is back there?

In every picture, image, and movie that we are seeing, some things are in the foreground and other things are in the background.  When we foreground problems – they become bigger and more problematic.  When we foreground resources – we become more skilled, competent and bold.

Figure 1:6
Foreground/Background

Look at the above picture. The old woman, beautiful young lady picture – what do you see?  In order to see the young girl the old woman must go into the background. In order for you to see the old woman, the young girl must go into the background.  It all boils down to – whom do you want to see, the young woman or the old hag?  What about that – it boils down to whom do you want to see?

Consider the PWBS who had an image of him as a scared little kid who froze in the presence of authority figures. When he froze he blocked.  He had another image of him as a resourceful adult that always spoke fluently.  When he saw the scared little kid, guess where the adult was? The scared little kid was in the foreground and the mature fluent adult was in the background.

Foregrounding Resources

What resources would you like to foreground in the theater of your mind?  How about faith, courage, relaxation, presence of mind, sense of feeling centered, sense of being whole, permission to feel more empowered, etc.?

In fact, look for the resources in your “fearful and anxious” sensory-rich movie of your blocking. Get one of those pictures that you normally get that creates great fear of blocking. Now, look in back of that or beyond that and notice the resources back there. Yes, those resources are back there and you can see them if you look close enough. The resources probably exist so far back in the background that you can just barely imagine them. You may see yourself speaking confidently and fluently with those resources back there. You may see confidence, calmness, courage, faith, etc. And yet, if you allow this process to continue, you can begin even now to recognize those resources in the background… and call them forth. You can call them forth to the foreground.  Play with this process.

Note: If you are a person of religious beliefs, if you look far enough you will see God. Yes, that is right, if you will just look far enough back there you will see God.

As you notice those-resources, you can let the foreground of fear and anxiety of blocking fade far, far away into the background as you at the same time bring those resources to the foreground.  And, you have your choices – you can do it slowly, gradually, in an ever-increasing fashion, or you can do it suddenly, radically, and with a jolt that all of a sudden, completely and fully lands you there.

How to Play:

This pattern is primarily written as a visual pattern. You can also do this with sounds and with feelings. You will have sounds in the foreground and other sounds in the background. You will have some feeling in the foreground and other feelings in the background. You can do it with concepts (words, self talk and voices). Some concepts will be foreground and others in the background. Some voices will be foreground and others background. For rehearsal, I prefer doing it visually but you use what works best for you.

We have the pattern below for backgrounding fear of blocking. However, it will work with many unwanted thoughts. The processes of running a shifting of background/foregrounds in order to bring more resources to bear on your experiences runs as follows:

1) Detect the Foreground/Background Structure

• Get a visual image of fearing blocking. Just notice what you find in the foreground.  What=s up front?  What stands out?
• Next shift your awareness to the background against which it stands. What is “back there?”
• You may need to step way back and see what is behind and/or surrounding the fear or anxiety.

2) Become aware of your own Foregrounding/ Backgrounding Patterns

• What do you typically foreground in order to do fear blocking?
• What do you regularly and systematically background or avoid in order to experience this fear of blocking?
• In other words, what do you “not see” that allows you to experience the fear blocking? What is it that you must foreground in order to block that you do not foreground when speaking fluent? It is back there. Look!
• How much flexibility of consciousness do you have with regard to these choices?   Do they serve you well?
• Do they enhance your life?

3) Decide to Take Charge of Shifting these Images

• That we foreground some things and background other things simply describes one of the factors about how the brain works.  Taking control over the way we run our brain so that we learn how to foreground resources, solutions, getting things done, etc.; however, describes, how we can use this distinction for running our brains more effectively.
• So run the ecology check constantly on your backgrounding and foregrounding to make sure that your learned patterns work for you rather than against you.

4) Commit yourself to Foregrounding Resources

• If you know that you can put resourceful thoughts, beliefs, pictures, sounds, music, feelings, etc. in the foreground of your mind, then make a commitment to yourself to do so.  In your mind, move up and utter a profoundly powerful “Yes!” to that resource.  “I will make that picture, idea, feeling, sound, music, etc. stand out in my mind!”
• If what stands out as non-sense – hurtful old pains, old fears, resentments, regrets, etc. ― guess what states of mind that will evoke in you?
• Will that do you any good?

5) Swish the Background to the Foreground.

• Once you feel strongly compelled to get away from that old fear of blocking, then go to the background and discover those resources.
• Do it so that your attention shifts to the new referents.Swish the fear of blocking to the background and the resources of fluency to the foreground. Do it fast and repeat five times – more if needed.
• Every time you thing of the fear of blocking ― see, hear, and feel it fading out to the background as the new resourceful fluent you comes dancing into the foreground and really stand-out with triumphant music playing and trumpets blowing!

Resources

Bodenhamer, Bobby G. (2003). Mastering Stuttering: A Handbook for Gaining Fluency.  Unpublished Manuscript.

Hall, L. Michael and Bodenhamer, Bobby G.(2002) Games for Mastering Fear. Grand Junction,  CO:  Neuro-Semantics Publication.