04/10/2022
Love this!
For those who don’t know, self-disclosure (also called “advertising”) is the act of informing your listener, casually and simply, that you stutter. For many of our clients—especially those prone to the high-stress “mental gymnastics” of hiding disfluencies during conversation—acknowledging their stutter outright can have a profound unburdening effect.
So a big goal in therapy is guiding clients toward trying it out for the first time, which often happens on the phone, calling businesses to ask simple customer-service questions…while letting the employee know that they might stutter while doing it. It’s a daunting feat, one that requires a slow, patient build-up. But this week, we had three new clients make their very first calls!
Crafting one’s own self-disclosure is an art. As clinicians, we guide clients in developing statements that are empowering, natural, and—most important—that fit their authentic self-expression.
Carl Herder, Clinic Director of our Atlanta office, put together these three tips to help people start thinking about how they might approach the challenge:
1. Call it "Stuttering"
Many people, when referring to their stuttering, will call it a speech problem, a speech impediment, a stammer, etc. Help out the listener by letting them know the actual name of the actual problem. This helps to avoid confusion about the best way for your listener to refer to it.
2. Don't Apologize!
Sometimes it's a knee-jerk apology, and it can be tough to avoid. Remember though, you didn't choose to stutter. It's not your fault. You don't owe anyone an apology. Tell them you stutter, maybe tell them what that means, and do so as assertively as you can.
3. Keep it Simple!
You want the listener to know you stutter, and you want to experience the benefits of knowing they know... but it's usually not necessary to go beyond the essential information.
Are you someone who self-discloses regularly? We’d love to have your tips or success stories in the comments below.
