The path towards fluency may be rough, tough and difficult....but never impossible...
“It’s only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away…” goes the verse from the famous song by the rock band “Boyzone”. Truly, communication plays a very important role today in our daily lives. People with strikingly good communication skills seem to win the hearts of people in society, and make a mark in their minds. Every classifieds in the newspapers coming from big multi-nationals, have “Excellent communication skills” as a requirement. Today’s is a competitive world, and the ability to ‘sell yourself’, has become a primary requisite, in the world wherein people are capable of selling peanuts for a billion bucks. I am a part of the same world, with challenges just a stretch more… It’s because I’ve been battling a battle against my words. Medically known as ‘Stammering’ or ‘Stuttering’, it’s a battle that is fought by billions of people round the country and the entire globe. And that’s a sort of consolation that it gives, that I am not alone in this battle. The million dollar question is – how we are going to win this battle, and climb the ladder of success, in this communication-driven world?
I was once asked why I stammer. I had no answer to the question that time. And if I ever had an answer, then I wouldn’t have been stammering. The causes of stammering as explained by medical science can be many. The therapists have many explanations for the factors leading to the condition. But, being a part of this battle, I can assert that, the real cause is the mind. You primarily stammer, because you think you will stammer.
People do have problems in this world. But most of those problems are being kept private. This is one problem that cannot be shielded easily as it is associated with the most important aspect of humans. The very aspect that separates us humans from the animals. Obviously, it would lead to many embarrassing situations, demoralizing the person, and consequently, affecting his or her whole persona.
Having lived with this problem over the years, I have realized many things related to the same. I have analyzed the problem through my experiences and my other friends with the same problem, and listed out three key things that lead to or aggravate ‘stammering’:
1. Hasty or fast speech: This phenomenon persists in almost all of the stammerers. In an anticipation that we would stammer, we want to get away with the sentence as fast as possible, because of which we tend to speak at a break-neck speed. This instead of aiding, worsens the problem.
2. Distorted or no breathing while talking: This is another reason many stammerers experience blocks while talking. There is no co-ordination between breathing and talking. If you observe a fluent person speaking, you will notice that he will always take a breath in, before starting to speak. We stammerers, are so concerned about stammering that we don’t bother to inhale before starting to speak.
3. Talking in excitement: This is a vicious cycle. Stammering or stammering experiences in the past, leads to excitement while speaking, which in turn leads to stammering the next time we talk.
Medical science has an antidote for everything. There are pain-killers for pain, and paracetamol for cold and fever. Do we have an antidote for stammering? Well, I would say ‘yes’. The antidote is ‘Will power’, and ‘Attitude’. In my quest for fluency, I have visited many therapist, and speech experts. I have received and tried loads of tips and techniques. I have realized that whichever techniques you may try, finally it boils down to your will power. You should have immense will power to do away with your faulty style of speaking, and dedicatedly follow the style that you think is right for you. The correct style can be realized by analyzing yourself with respect to your severity, external factors affecting your stammering, your strengths and weaknesses. And finally it’s the attitude with which you approach this problem that counts. The problem may well demoralize you, but it’s your attitude that gives you strength to come back strong and try again the next time. Brooding over the ugly situations of the past serves no purpose. But learning from the past is the key.
Finally, it always helps to have role models. The biggest role models for me have been the Bollywood star, Hrithik Roshan and Partha Bagchi. Both have been stammers at some point of time in their lives, and they overcame it. Somehow, it gives me hope that one can overcome stammering. If these people did it, so can I. The key to success lies in your own hands. And these great people have discovered this key and unleashed its magic. The roadmap towards fluency lies within us.
The journey towards fluency has never been a smooth ride, but a roller-coaster ride altogether. You have your ups and downs. But the goal is to be persistent in your ‘ups’. I’ve been battling with words for years. I may have won some battles, and lost some, but in the long run, I feel I am on my way to win the war.
written by :- Harish Usgaonkar
“It’s only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away…” goes the verse from the famous song by the rock band “Boyzone”. Truly, communication plays a very important role today in our daily lives. People with strikingly good communication skills seem to win the hearts of people in society, and make a mark in their minds. Every classifieds in the newspapers coming from big multi-nationals, have “Excellent communication skills” as a requirement. Today’s is a competitive world, and the ability to ‘sell yourself’, has become a primary requisite, in the world wherein people are capable of selling peanuts for a billion bucks. I am a part of the same world, with challenges just a stretch more… It’s because I’ve been battling a battle against my words. Medically known as ‘Stammering’ or ‘Stuttering’, it’s a battle that is fought by billions of people round the country and the entire globe. And that’s a sort of consolation that it gives, that I am not alone in this battle. The million dollar question is – how we are going to win this battle, and climb the ladder of success, in this communication-driven world?
I was once asked why I stammer. I had no answer to the question that time. And if I ever had an answer, then I wouldn’t have been stammering. The causes of stammering as explained by medical science can be many. The therapists have many explanations for the factors leading to the condition. But, being a part of this battle, I can assert that, the real cause is the mind. You primarily stammer, because you think you will stammer.
People do have problems in this world. But most of those problems are being kept private. This is one problem that cannot be shielded easily as it is associated with the most important aspect of humans. The very aspect that separates us humans from the animals. Obviously, it would lead to many embarrassing situations, demoralizing the person, and consequently, affecting his or her whole persona.
Having lived with this problem over the years, I have realized many things related to the same. I have analyzed the problem through my experiences and my other friends with the same problem, and listed out three key things that lead to or aggravate ‘stammering’:
1. Hasty or fast speech: This phenomenon persists in almost all of the stammerers. In an anticipation that we would stammer, we want to get away with the sentence as fast as possible, because of which we tend to speak at a break-neck speed. This instead of aiding, worsens the problem.
2. Distorted or no breathing while talking: This is another reason many stammerers experience blocks while talking. There is no co-ordination between breathing and talking. If you observe a fluent person speaking, you will notice that he will always take a breath in, before starting to speak. We stammerers, are so concerned about stammering that we don’t bother to inhale before starting to speak.
3. Talking in excitement: This is a vicious cycle. Stammering or stammering experiences in the past, leads to excitement while speaking, which in turn leads to stammering the next time we talk.
Medical science has an antidote for everything. There are pain-killers for pain, and paracetamol for cold and fever. Do we have an antidote for stammering? Well, I would say ‘yes’. The antidote is ‘Will power’, and ‘Attitude’. In my quest for fluency, I have visited many therapist, and speech experts. I have received and tried loads of tips and techniques. I have realized that whichever techniques you may try, finally it boils down to your will power. You should have immense will power to do away with your faulty style of speaking, and dedicatedly follow the style that you think is right for you. The correct style can be realized by analyzing yourself with respect to your severity, external factors affecting your stammering, your strengths and weaknesses. And finally it’s the attitude with which you approach this problem that counts. The problem may well demoralize you, but it’s your attitude that gives you strength to come back strong and try again the next time. Brooding over the ugly situations of the past serves no purpose. But learning from the past is the key.
Finally, it always helps to have role models. The biggest role models for me have been the Bollywood star, Hrithik Roshan and Partha Bagchi. Both have been stammers at some point of time in their lives, and they overcame it. Somehow, it gives me hope that one can overcome stammering. If these people did it, so can I. The key to success lies in your own hands. And these great people have discovered this key and unleashed its magic. The roadmap towards fluency lies within us.
The journey towards fluency has never been a smooth ride, but a roller-coaster ride altogether. You have your ups and downs. But the goal is to be persistent in your ‘ups’. I’ve been battling with words for years. I may have won some battles, and lost some, but in the long run, I feel I am on my way to win the war.
written by :- Harish Usgaonkar
2 comments:
Awsome post sir
Awsome post sir
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