At our last meeting we talked a lot about how to be open about stuttering. It feels weird--to say the least--to come out and admit to someone else that you stutter. But it feels weird not to admit it. The elephant is in the room and no amount of pretending it isn't will make it go away.
Refusing to pretend takes a lot of courage. And more often than not people recognize that and react positively to it. Speaking the truth--if you do it with kindness and humility--makes a good impression. It's something to keep in mind when you're hesitating about being open about your stutter. Many people appreciate someone who isn't afraid to tell it like it is.
For a long time it seemed a paradox to me that being a stutterer doesn't have to stand in the way of speaking openly, of being a good communicator. You can stand up for yourself and get your point across even if you don't do it fluently. At our meetings people often tell great stories and make really funny jokes. Sure, sometimes there are bumps in the road and they stumble. But sometimes the road becomes really smooth. It's amazing to watch how, in the excitement of the moment, some of us even forget that we stutter and are able to speak fluently without effort.
If only we could forget that we stutter on a regular basis! But the fact that we sometimes do forget proves that we have the ability to be fluent. With hard work and patience, that ability can be cultivated until it blossoms into easy, smooth, fluent speech that we can count on every single day.
