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About the Author: My name is Ron Roman. I currently live in Los Angeles, but was raised in Newtown, CT and it will always be home. I am a Human Geographer/GIS technician having received my Graduate Degree from CUNY-Hunter College. I am looking forward to continuing my research connected to travel, primarily to Northern Ireland. I am a big sports fan. These days I enjoy tennis and skiing and ride my bike as my daily fitness staple. Raised in CT, I was an 18-year Hartford Whalers fan until they left town. From my earliest speaking recollections, I had a stutter. A few years ago, I committed to speaking smoothly, basing my strategy on a technique I learned many years ago with the necessary adjustments for success this time around. |
In this video, I discuss an aspect of my journey to smoothing my speech that speaks the change I feel might be beneficial. I’ve found success by focusing entirely on how I can realistically change something I don’t feel good about regardless of what success entails. I’ve also found success by not putting energy into what I wish success would look like, but that is not realistic for me.
Wow this is a very impressive strategy Rob and I’m glad you have found something that makes you feel good doing.
My question is that does it take you a lot of mental energy to speak like this and is it a daily struggle or is it natural for you now to speak at this pace? Why in your mind has speaking at this rate outweighed speaking at a faster stuttering rate?
Thanks for sharing!
Hello Kunal:
Let me address each question.
It requires constant mental focus and mental and physical effort. And it can get tiring when speaking for extended periods. But the resulting smooth flowing speech is very gratifying that makes it easier.
It is not and never will be automatic. But actively applying the required effort for smooth speech is now just generally what I do.
I reached a point that I could no longer be at peace with being a stuttering speaker. When I committed to smoothing my speech, I recognized and totally accepted the “consequences” as a speaker that entailed. Including the unnatural sounding, very measured, controlled speech. I am and will always be committed to that way of speaking as long as that is what I need to do to maintain smooth speech.
Thanks and feel free if you have a follow-up.
Hi Ron,
Nice to see you participating in this conference. Our paths haven’t crossed in a while, as I don’t much attend the stutter social meet-ups anymore.
I loved hearing how you realized what YOU needed to do to speak in the way that was/is best for you.
Of course, you know there will be detractors, but from what I’ve seen of you over the years, you don’t let others reactions deter you from sticking to your plan that you know works for you.
You have a great deal of patience and passion. This shows in your acceptance of the speech tool you choose to use. Kudos!
Pam
Hey Pam:
Thx for the nice comments.
All is good.
Keep well and enjoy the rest of the conference.
Ron
Hi Ron,
Thank you for sharing your story. It takes a lot of strength and dedication to do something about the things we can’t control. Sometimes we feel completely powerless and hopeless because of it, but even in those times there’s always something we can do to make it better. That’s why I have to agree with you when you said “very meaningful achievements are not always based on how high you climb, sometimes it’s based on the low you climb out from”! I think this is a much better measure of success than the one society has led us to believe in. I admire your journey and wish you the best!
Karla
Hello Karla:
I appreciate your kind words.
Thanks for bringing up the feelings of “powerlessness and hopelessness” that sometimes occur. But yes, if we become content and focus on what we can do about our speech, eventually the feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness could be replaced by more positive feelings.
Best,
Ron
Came to my attention I left out a single word that changes a meaning.
Should be: “become content with and focus on what we can do about our speech…”