Online via Zoom
On June 9th, author and international speaker Mary Wood led an interactive discussion about the fear of stuttering. Mary and workshop attendees alike openly shared their experiences, challenges, and insights with one another.
Several key insights from the workshop
Mary has been a person who stutters (PWS) for over 50 years, but like many PWS tried to hide it from others. For Mary, overcoming her fear of stuttering boiled down to facing her fear of rejection from others. She discusses the strategies she used to overcome these fears, including voluntary stuttering, positive affirmations, and changing her mindset around how others' reactions dictated her own self-beliefs and self-worth. As Mary says beautifully, “Rejection is never personal. It’s about the other person. Not you or I.”
Many audience members chimed in on their own strategies for managing their fears of rejection. These included effective disclosure and recognizing when we may be projecting our own beliefs about our stuttering onto others.
Thank you...
Thank you to Mary Wood for sharing her wealth of insights, stories, and wisdom. Thank you to the audience members for your openness and willingness to share your stories and pearls of wisdom.
Register to View Now!
We could only capture pieces of this incredible discussion in our short summary above. If you want to hear the specifics of the session including the stories that shaped Mary’s and the audience’s views you can register to access the video recording at your convenience. Once registered, you will receive an email with a link to the recording. Recordings of past Let’s Talk events are also available for viewing. Let’s Talk events are used to raise funds for the CSA so that it can continue to help persons affected by stuttering and advocating on their behalf. We thank you for your support!
About Mary
After stuttering for over 50 years, Mary discovered information on the fear of rejection and how it related to stuttering. Mary attended her first conference for people who stutter in Ottawa in 1993, presenting a workshop on self-esteem. She has since inspired people at conferences in Canada, the United States, Europe and Great Britain.
If you haven’t yet heard Mary speak, here is your chance!
For me, the fear of stuttering relates to the fear of being rejected, trying to be fluent so we can be loved and accepted. Stuttering can also be a reason to ask questions about the feelings we are experiencing, and the stories we’ve been telling ourselves, sometimes for many years. It really is the tip of the iceberg, and self-acceptance is an important part of our journey.
— Mary Wood
Registration is $10. Proceeds go towards helping the CSA fulfill its mission.