Effective Communication With Stuttering People

To make communication more effective with people, who have speech problems such as stuttering, it is a must that other people exert more effort in understanding the condition and knowing how to deal with them. The following are some tips that people without speech impediments can use to better communicate with people that stutter.

1. Fight the urge to end their sentences or say words for them. This is a very practical tip in creating better communication with people who stutter. Why? Because when try to finish their sentences, they get nervous and conscious that makes the room for error larger. Not doing this will make people stutter feel respected and one way of letting them know that they are not too different from normal people.

2. Refrain from saying words or phrases such as "Take a breath," "Relax," or "Slow down". When you say these phrases—even if you have good intentions—will only make the person who suffer from stuttering feel more like they are different and there's something wrong from them. Saying these things is like rubbing salt into the wound and will make them feel more ostracized from the society. Instead of saying these things, try more encouraging words such as "I understand" or "Go on" even if it takes them some time to finish the sentence.

3. Don’t look like you do not understand what he or she is saying. For people without speech problems, it is understandable to have a hard time understanding the words and sentences of people that suffer from stuttering. But then again, it is important that we show these people that they are no different from us. Most of the time stuttering is caused by none acceptance or rejection from a community. The best way to effectively send the message that we care is by understanding them even if it takes more time and effort.

4. Be more understanding and patient in listening to people who stutter. This can be shown by allowing the person to finish speaking. This is very important and a must be followed tip for communicating with people who stutter because one of the reasons behind all the stuttering that a person does is his anxiety and his lack of social skills. Being patient and allowing a person that stutters to finish what he is saying gives them the feeling of respect and acceptance which is important to their therapy.

5. Be more sensitive. If you are conversing with a person with speech problem such as stuttering, a moderate pace is very significant because it allows the conversation to naturally flow in a more relaxed manner and subtle rate. If you were talking too fast, this would put pressure on the person that stutter which will make it harder for him or her to communicate effectively.

6. Don’t show any signs of pity. The worse thing that can happen to a person with disabilities is to be treated with so much pity. Unless these people are asking for it we should look at them with pity. We should give them an equal chance to everything.

7. Always maintain eye contact. Making eye contact is important for strengthening respect. Looking a person in the eye in a conversation gives them the feeling of respect.

8. Don’t pretend that you understand what the stuttering person said even if you didn’t. Most people who stutter won't mind repeating themselves if you tell them honestly that you didn’t fully understand what he or she just said.

By saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said" will help them exert more effort in communicating effectively.