Around 3% of UK adults stammer. You’ve very likely worked with someone who does – and never known.
I’m one of them. And the better I get at hiding it, the less anyone knows it’s there. That’s part of the problem.
Today is International Stammering Awareness Day.
“Hi, my name is D-d-daniel…”
“Ha! You’ve forgotten your name?” No. I haven’t. That response is common. Early on, I took offence. Now I realise it’s just unoriginal patter.
I’ve stammered my whole life, and the fear of losing control is real: ordering food, introducing myself, changing my words on the fly just to sound fluent.
Most people don’t notice, because I word-swap. Anyone who stammers knows the exact moment a block is coming; professionals call it covert stammering.
I’m glad my strategies work. But they don’t always. During a recent visit by the Prime Minister to my place of work, I walked and talked with Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and I stammered right through it. One of those ground-swallow-me-whole moments, although admittedly I probably thought it was worse than it was.
Reading aloud is still a hurdle, whether it was a script at school or an autocue on my Multimedia Journalism degree. Ad-libbing is easier, but it isn’t always an option.
So next time someone pauses on their name or mid-sentence, just wait. They haven’t forgotten. They know exactly what they want to say.
If you manage, teach or hire: give people time, don’t fill the silence, and ask what helps.