I’m James; I’m 20 and a student at Fordham. I’ve been stuttering since I was five. Under pressure, such as speaking in class, I have stuttered up to 80% of my words. It was horrible; that is, I was so embarrassed to speak; it destroyed my self-confidence and made me want to go into a shell. I hated it.
In mid-2018, somebody on Reddit mentioned Lee Lovett and his book. I read his 2nd Edition of it, and it helped, but I couldn’t seem to apply the Crutches. In late 2018, I emailed him and we began Skyping. After about six Skypes, I had made massive improvement. I was beginning to believe that I really could stop stuttering.
By early 2019, I wasn’t really stuttering or blocking so much as I was forcing words here and there. Under pressure, I still appeared disabled, but I wasn’t feeling pressure nearly as often nor was the pressure as intense. By the spring, I was going a whole week without appearing disabled in any conversations. My only real problem then was making presentations in class or doing job interviews.
I kept Skyping with Coach Lee, 2-4 times a month. We worked a lot on presentations and job interviews and methods to make them smoother. We worked a lot “Speaking like a King”; that is, talking softly, slowly, using extreme pronunciation, being passionate about my message, etc. By June 2019, I hadn’t had a bad incident (appearing disabled) in almost three months. I cancelled Skypes for several months. In the fall of 2019, we Skyped some more, practicing job interviews. All of them went well, and I did get a job with a bank. Still, I wanted to keep improving my speech. I want to love to speak.
In April 2020, we Skyped again for the first time in four months. My speech is so much better, no bad incidents for many months now. I still have fears about presentations, and I intend to join World Stop Stuttering Association (WSSA), the company that licensed Coach Lee’s methods (https://worldstopstuttering.org/). At WSSA, I intend to take the courses, participate in its speech club, watch coaching videos when I want and, eventually, take the Certified Coaching Course. I intend to teach myself to love to speak in all situations, which of course includes all forms of public speaking. I know that I can do it, and I won’t quit until I do. Go here to hear me speak now:
So, my advice to my fellow-PWS is: Read Lee Lovett’s book, and join World Stop Stuttering Association (https://worldstopstuttering.org/) and take advantage of WSSA’s program – all of Lee’s books, courses with 50+ lectures, videos, the works. These methods work!!! I’ll be grateful until the day I die.
I was leading a pathetically crippled speech-life until I found Lee’s book and his methods. It’s such a shame that so many PWS accept their stuttering. Most can beat it. If you don’t believe it, just read the Success Stories on Speech Anxiety Anonymous. They’re obviously true and they’ll make your CRY FOR JOY! Join “The Cause”: Let’s drive stuttering off the planet!
James, New Jersey, April 2020
