My name is Gordon. I’m 29, and I live in Washington, D.C., where I work in IT. I began stuttering at age 12. I was a mild blocker, forcing words here and there, but most people did not view me as a stutterer. Although I was really nervous and held back my speech in many speaking situations, I didn’t have many “bad incidents”, as Coach Lee defines them (“appearing speech disabled”). Still, I often couldn’t or didn’t say what I wanted to say, and I just disliked and tended to avoid speaking whenever I felt nervous. I used silence to avoid appearing disabled.
A friend mentioned Lee Lovett to me, and I got Lee’s book on Amazon. It was an incredible revelation. He laid out the problem and detailed many ways to attack it and beat it. I improved massively just by reading the book!
In July of 2019, I began Skyping with Coach Lee, and I did around ten sessions with him by now, July 2020. These helped a great deal. I began using Crutch 1 (dropping the first letter or syllable), C2 (substituting similar words or phrases), C6 (rephrasing the thought), C9 (pronunciation), C-11 (speaking like a king) and C13 (speaking without thinking any words). After a while, I concentrated mainly on speaking like a king. If you want to hear my speak, go here: https://youtu.be/yBny_y0FpOg.
I can’t remember my last bad speech incident, and I am much less nervous about speaking in general. I plan on attending SpeechMasters Club, which is sponsored by World Stop Stuttering Association, as this speech club is tailored to the needs of people with speech anxiety.
My advice to those who stutter or suffer speech anxiety is this: Read Lee Lovett’s incredible book and join World Stop Stuttering Association (https://worldstopstuttering.org/), which Lee licensed to offer all of his books and dozens of video-lectures by him on those books. WSSA is the only organization in the world that’s run by ex-stutterers who understand stuttering and how to beat it using Lee’s methods. The point is that stuttering and nervousness about speaking can be stopped, and life is a lot better without those anxieties. I expect to soon be able to say “I love to speak in all situations.” This is a very long way from where I was a few months ago..s
GORDON, Washington, D.C., July 2020
