Help with stuttering needed

by Henry
(Australia)

Hi Susan,

Just writing to say how helpful Speaking-Out-Loud is to my family as we have stutterers amongst us. Teaching them confidence in speaking is a huge priority.

Our question is concerns one of our children who has reached the final in a speaking competition and now has to do a two minute speech on an unknown topic.
How can we prepare him for this?
When you know your speech by practising it flows easily but when you don't know what your topic will be, how does he do it without stuttering?
What sort of topics would they put forward for a 13 year old?
We dont know if you can help us but any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Henry

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Help with stuttering needed

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by: Henry

Thank you Susan for your previous advice on my son's speech. He did very well and was highly commended. The experience did wonders for his self confidence!
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by: Susan

Hi Henry,

It's great to hear from you and thank you too for your comments about Speaking-Out-Loud.
Please pass on my congratulations to your child. Getting to a final is a fantastic achievement and especially so for someone who stumbles over words and has difficulty getting them out.
There is really only one way to prepare for this impromptu speech and that is by doing lots of them.
Visit this page on structuring impromptu speeches .
I suggest learning a couple of formats by rote so that it's in the memory - doesn 't have to be thought about a great deal.They're just there.
Now write up a list of topics - There are some here
that will be suitable as starters for a 13 yr old but you'll need more. Go with interests first. They're easier to speak about and then branch out.
There's also a list of speech topics here that might be useful for middle school aged children.

Start with one minute speeches on the topic you pick and using a format. Allow a minute or two thinking time and then speak.
Listen for opening, development and conclusion inside the format chosen. Try and do as many as you can a day - in the car, at tea, where ever. Make it a game that everybody can play. The confidence will soon pick up. When it's there extend the time out to the full two minutes. Use a stop watch too so that your child learns to gauge the time for themselves.

The more practice you do, the less stressed your child will feel and the less stressed, the less stuttering is likely to occur. But I'm sure you know all that.

To ring in the changes have them have fun with it - a speech in a loud voice, a small voice, whispered, with an accent - anything to get them relaxed, comfortable and familiar. Truly the more they play with the impromptu form the easier it will be.

I hope this helps Henry. Good luck! I hope it goes well.
Kind regards,
Susan

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