Speech class. Freshman year of college. Everyone is required to give a speech demonstrating something.
My friend Dan decides he’s going to demonstrate a classy first date kiss. 10 points for creativity.
Sometimes we’re the star of the show and sometimes we’re in a supporting role. Do you know which role you should be playing? And are you playing that role?
I’m fascinated with stuttering.
Stuttering – when people repeat, draw out, not complete, or skip words or sounds without meaning to. They say it happens when the brain is not able to send and receive messages in the normal way.
How beautiful.
How beautiful that the man or woman isn’t condemned to silence. How beautiful the strength of someone who knowingly stutters and pushes through anyway. They fight for connection, communication and understanding more than we will ever know.
How beautiful.
The next time you’re in the presence of someone stuttering, give them an unhurried safe space to communicate.
And maybe, just maybe, stuttering is part of our world to help us slow down and hear things we may otherwise miss in normal conversation.
I’ve been in hundreds of meetings with hundreds of people, hearing hundreds of concepts, using thousands of words. We’ve allowed our culture to fail at oration, particularly drowning on articulation and clarity.
Hours are wasted because we ramble on and on, circling around the exact point we’re trying to make. Finally we arrive at it, state it, and are so excited we’ve articulated it (at last) that we repeat it 5 different ways.
You’ve got great ideas and they need to be shared, but how much traction could we gain by being the person people looked forward to hearing rather than wishing they could silence?
Become a favored speaker in a group meeting:
1. Formulate a one-sentence point and state it immediately so people aren’t wondering why we opened our mouth.
2. Give another sentence or two with reasons to support your initial statement.
3. Repeat your initial focused statement.
If people need more explanation, they’ll ask. If not, they will be thrilled for your concise knowledge! Best wishes in this new endeavor!
Amplifying Specks of Life 