Tuesday, March 19, 2013

5 minutes on Stuttering: Toastmasters


The video cuts out at the end, because the connection was lost. I wanted to say that getting on stage is always a gamble: if I am fluent, it is a great performance. if I am not, I struggle through the words. Typically, the more I practised the better. One of my next video posts will be about tips for public speaking.

2 comments:

Ora said...

Tom, you mention your sense of humor. Tell us of your experiences with telling jokes. Are you able to tell jokes successfully? Has Toastmasters improved your ability to tell jokes?

My own experiences is that telling jokes or humorous stories is always problematic, because jokes depend on rhythm, and particularly on smooth delivery of the punchline. And the pressure to deliver the punchline smoothly of course increases speech anxiety, and takes the comic smile off my face, and ruins the timing and the rhythm. So for that reason I avoid telling jokes very much because I don't do it well.

What's been your experience?

Anonymous said...

With all the therapies out there why do you still stutter? Do you want to change? Like is there something you get from continuing to stutter? I have read your blogs for years and you seem to want the victory but not do the work, to take some magic pill or have someone wave a magic wand and your stutter will go up in a puff of smoke.
Part of me thinks you are others who give public speeches and achieve what they want in their career with a stutter are amazingly courageous. Though part of me is not sure why you haven't given McGuire a go, especially when you have all the best characteristics for achieving total control.