My SAM Talk

[John Kerr]

Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that attended my SAM Talk on Saturday 13th Feb.
I enjoyed answering your questions and I feel I really achieved something by giving a presentation to 30+ people. I always found it difficult talking to just 2 or 3 people at the same time.
Lee’s book is just not about overcoming stuttering but the other benefits are building confidence and having a better opinion about yourself which I think is a result of speaking fluently.

Thanks
John

[Gábor]

Sadly I couldn’t attend this meeting but I’ve watched it back and your speech was fantastic!

About the phenomenon you mentioned: in the past I also wrote some comments about Lee’s method and my own experiences about fluent speech on stuttering forums (mainly on Reddit) and I was accused that I promote him for money, and because “stuttering is incurable” anyway, this method must be some kind of scam and also “unscientific”.

[John Kerr]

Thanks, Gabor.
I agree and some people accused me also of promoting Lee’s book as some kind of affiliate program to get money out of them.

[Javier]

Hi John!
you gave a fantastic speech. I really had a great time listening to your speech, just like all of us there.

I always tell to my students, when we prepare their speeches for the SAM meetings, that, believe it or not, they are going to have a great time being the speaker of the SAM meeting, for various reasons:
– You are going to prove to yourself that you are going to be capable of giving a speech, fluently, smoothly, in front of 20 or 30 people, or maybe even more.
– The hardest part might be the beginning, when the pressure is at its peak. So thta’s the critical moment, when you have to focus completely on using the Crutches, on exaggerating them, on trying to be enthusiastic, showing passion.
– Once you’ve started, it will get gradually easier and easier, and then you’ll really start enjoying it.
– But the best part is when you’ve finished giving your speech, and you see all those raised hands, wanting to say something.
– In all the SAM meetings that we’ve had, all the people who have volunteered to make comments to someone’s speech, these comments are all very positive. They praise how well you delivered your message, how you used the Crutches, etc. It feels great to finally, after all that we’ve gone through, to hear somebody say that you’ve spoken really well.
– So, all these compliments are proof that you’ve become a very good speaker, even in front of a large group of people (I’ve given a few speeches in the SAM meeting; before SAM, I would have never thought I’d be able to do such thing). I stopped fearing these situations some time ago. I know I can speak pretty well in these situations too.

I consider giving a speech in SAM as a another test for the PWSS. A test that all PWSS must take at least once. They owe this to themselves. The proof that they can do it.

So, John, congratulations again!!! You’ve come a long way!!

[Javier]

Hi Gábor. What you said abour Reddit, sadly it has happened to several of us. I gave it a try, and got the same results. Some other PWSS have had the same result….
The sad thing is that these people who say that we are liars have not even bothered to fact-check what they are saying about WSSA and Lee Lovett. So there is no point in arguing with such people.
Only time will open their eyes, when WSSA gets hundreds of Success Stories. When that happens, if they open their eyes just a little bit, they’ll admit that they were wrong. If not, well, they’ll be ridiculing themselves. This reminds me of Copernicus, when everybody believed that the Earth was the centre of the Solar System, and he proved them wrong, saying that the Sun was actually the centre, but a lot of people didn’t believe him.

[John Kerr]

Hi Javier,
Thanks for your kind words and I really surprised myself as I actually enjoyed giving the talk and answering questions. In the days beforehand, I was stressing myself and working myself into a bit of a frenzy about the Talk. That was completely unnecessary!
Giving the talk was a real milestone for me but I won’t allow myself to be complacent. Daily AST/SHT, reading aloud and use of the crutches is essential.
My advice to anyone giving a SAM Talk is : Be relaxed, be yourself, don’t see it as a chore or something to dread and cracking a few jokes certainly helps as it puts you and others in a relaxed mood.
As usual, Javier…..you made a number of excellent points to myself and Gabor regarding PWS reluctance to trying a different approach as regards to their speech.

[Javier]

thank you John.
You are very right about how we should perceive the SAM talks when we are the scheduled speaker. We shouldn’t view it with fear. Nobody is going to harm us, so why have fear and anxiety? Instead, we should view it as an opportunity to continue improving, to learn, to have a good time, get to know new people, etc.
And, as you said, we all have to keep on improving, no matter where we are. You, I, all of us still have room for improvement. And like Lee says in his books: nothing is stationary. Either we improve or we get worse. So, why should we choose the latter?

[Anonymous]

John, I thouroughly enjoyed your speech. I honestly think you need to start a meditation podcast or youtube videos – that is how soothing and relaxing your voice is.

If I did not know any better, I would have thought that you gave speeches all the time, you did not come across as nervous at all. Bravo!!!

[John Kerr]

Leah,
I would never have thought of my speech as soothing or relaxing. I always thought of my accent sounding like ‘ barbed wire & broken glass’ lol. Thank you for the compliment!
Don’t you think the SAM meetings are great? I really enjoy listening to all the different people from America, South Africa, Spain, India etc.
I really like listening to you and you always have something worthwhile to say during the meetings. I’ve certainly picked up a few ideas and tips from you, Javier and Prathusha.
Such a great community where everyone helps one another.

[Anonymous]

Hi John,

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. Hope to see you at the SAM meeting this Saturday!

[Author]

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