Crutch 7 – Whisper

[Gábor]

Do you use this crutch often? In what situations and how?

Leah told me that it can be very useful during phone calls, because not being able to talk aloud can be a valid excuse to whisper.

I mostly use this crutch while I’m reading aloud to protect my voice (if I talk too much, sometimes I have a hoarse voice on the next day) and also not to disturb others, when I’m not alone.

[Javier]

Hi Gábor!
I must admit that I don’t use this Crutch as much I use others. But it is really useful. I also speak in my soft voice quite a lot. When whispering or speaking softly, we feel more calm. We can whisper a word or a sentence. It is very easy to use when speaking on the phone, as Leah said. We can also use it to start a sentence, or, a specific word, or even the first 1 or 2 syllables of a word. This is similar to using Crutch 1.
Some time ago, when I was still a PWS, I had a terrible sore throat, the worst of my life. I couldn’t speak, not even in a soft voice, for a whole month. And guess what? I didn’t stutter, not even once, during that month. You can use that excuse, and whisper. “I have a sore throat”. Lee Lovett whispers quite frequently in his coaching sessions, and he sounds just fine.

[Anonymous]

Gabor, I love using this crutch in the workplace (pretending that I need to whisper so as not to disturb other people from working) and on the phone (pretending that I am in a place that requires me to be quiet – the person on the other side of the phone has no idea where I am).

I too did not really use this crutch while self-curing, but it sure did help me in some sticky situations when the other crutches were just not coming to me as easily.

Lastly, remember that as “silly” as you might feel while whispering random words in between sentences, you will feel less silly than you would if you were to stutter.

[Adam Werth]

I never whisper–no one can hear a whisperer!!!!

If we realisticaly had laryngitis…we would be forced to whisper!!

Why should we pretend to have laryngitis so we can whisper—-others won’t be fooled!!!

[Anonymous]

Adam, you do not have to pretend to have laryngitis. There are many places when there is a legitimate reason for whispering as I have mentioned above. Be creative!

You can even say that your throat is a bit sore. I do not know about you, but I would much rather pretend to have a sore throat than to stutter and form a new stutter memory, ensuring that I will never stop stuttering long enough to form a fluent habit.

I have whispered MANY times, and NOBODY ever asked me why I was whispering. Guess what, people do NOT care about you and your speech, they are too busy worrying about all their own issues.

Have fun with it!

[Javier]

I totally agree with what you said, Tasneem.
Something like 2 years ago, or so, I had the worst sore throat of my life (I even had to go to the doctor, they prescribed me antibiotics), and it lasted around a month. I didn’t stutter during that time, as I had to whisper if I wanted to talk. Nobody thought I was fooling them. Even if I now wanted to pretend that I have a sore throat, and whisper, I doubt that anybody would think that I’m fooling them. People have their own lives, their own problems, they don’t have time to worry about us. I used to be sceptical about this statement before reading Lee’s book, but then I realised it was true, when meeting with good friends of mine that for one reason or another, I hadn’t seen in months. So when I met them again, I wasn’t a PWS anymore, I was a PWSS, and they didn’t even comment anything about my speech. And my stuttering was VERY evident. When speaking to people, they pay attention to the message you’re delivering, not the way to deliver it. And if they notice anything wrong about our speech, they will forget about it in 5 minutes.

[Anonymous]

PWS need to start realizing that NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR SPEECH!!! The day I finally accepted this, was the day I finally believed that I could cure. NOBODY CARES!!!!!

[Gábor]

We can also whisper a first feared word, then say it out loud with ease. The whispering “opens up” the feared word, like a machete would open a jungle. I’ve just used it today. It’s even better if the listener can’t see us (so it’s not strange at all, that we’re whispering under our breath before talking normally), but it can work in other situations, too.

[Gábor]

“The whispering “opens up” the feared word, like a machete would open a jungle.”

I mean a path in the jungle (but I can’t edit now)

Anyway, I’ll experiment with this crutch during the next week

[Javier]

Let us know about your progress, Gábor.
Whispering is a very useful Crutch, but not too many people use it unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Gabor, I love what you have written! I too used to whisper a word before I started the real sentence, and I did this before I met Lee. The word I whispered sometimes made no sense haha. Keep doing that, it really works.

[Author]

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