Talking on Phones

I've heard that stutterers who talk on a phone often stutter more than speaking in person. Does anyone know why this is? I've always wondered since I have this same issue.

Hello Lauren,

For many, talking on the telephone is unnatural, considering that you cannot see the person that you are talkign to. So, I guess that this feeling contributes/adds to the severity of the stuttering. I, for example, am much better at talking in person than on the phone.

Kevin

Yes, this does make sense. I've realized that I can talk to a person I know face to face with less trouble then speaking to that same person on the phone, which is more difficult even if I know them.

Yes... when you think about it, all we do is talk to a piece of plastic. How natural is that? Our voice is then encoded as a signal that is sent to the other person's piece of plastic, and they hear our voice...

NOT natural at all.

Kevin

This was my number 1 issue when i was a stutterer.
I believe it induces speech stress. One of the biggest fears for a stutterer is being put on the spot to speak especially about an unknown topic and a stranger, the unknown of what some might say. etc.. I would stutter a lot less when answering a phone rather than making the call. When making a call, the ring is the killer we(stutterer) tend to hold our breath an undergo a valsulva manoeuvre (i.e locking the body and vocal chords)

I have a section on how i overcame stuttering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVlz6eqLkjA

Regards,
Jason

I've stuttered with varying degrees of severity since childhood. I can go months or years without stuttering, but what brought me to this forum and this link is that for the past couple of days I've been stuttering on the phone more than usual, and it's been very embarrassing.

While I'm usually about 99% stutter-free, when I do stutter, it's usually on the phone, and it's almost always on the word "good-bye" and often the "okay" which precedes it, as an attempt to deflect the stuttering. This happens with family members I talk to all the time, so it's not about the nervousness of talking to a stranger.

Another word I tend to stutter on is "excuse me". When I was in high school, and I had to get past people on the bus, I'd deflect by saying "pardon me" but that felt awkward, because it sounded pretentious, but it's the only thing I could do.

It's strange, I can almost "feel" a stutter developing. It feels like a tightness in the chest, and maybe a slight panicy feeling.

My brother stutters worse than I do, and my Dad did intermittently, usually on the phone, but sometimes in conversation.

I learn English as a second language, I find myself stutter way more when speaking English than my native language. When talking on the phone, it's even worse than that. I have a tough time asking question, some words that are difficult to pronounce become quite a nightmare which often prompts me to substitute that particular word that I get stuck at with another easier one.

To all the people talking about how they can feel the stutter before it even happens, I completely understand. Its a combination of a tensing of the body, and, for me at least, a complete vocal block. As if some unseen force is legitimately preventing me from speaking. I can happily say I do not suffer from that severity as much anymore, but it was a nightmare when it would happen.

I also know about word replacing. For me, it wasn't certain words but the sounds of the word. For example, words with an "us" sound, I.e. bus, gus, fuss. To this day I still have trouble saying these words but I force myself to say them. If i dont, how will I ever learn to say them on my own? So avoid word replacement if at all possible. And let people finish your own sentences. It feels great that they understand you so you don't have to finish, but it also harms you in a way where you will not overcome the words that trap you in the first place.