Pausing is extremely important. Especially for people who stutter.

Here’s how you can bring it in with 5 simple steps:

Step #1: Take any piece of text / and put slashes / to break it down into pieces.

Step #2: Practice reading it out loud.

Step #3: Add eye contact and record yourself on video.

Step #4: Emphasize the main points / and by doing so / you’re going to create pauses automatically.

Step #5: Post your recording in the Free From Stutter Facebook group.

And maybe that’s the most important step (step #5). Notice how you feel when thinking about posting. That’s where 90% of stuttering lives: in stuttering shame, fear of social judgment, or social rejection. In avoiding, escaping, and hiding stuttering. And hiding YOU.

So post it and congratulate yourself on overcoming this biggest fear. See it as a huge win! Post it not to get likes and the approval of others, but to get one big like from the person whose opinion is the most important—YOU.

More resources on this topic:

Pausing & Phrasing as a stuttering technique

Emphasize & Public speak