Do you fear how another will react to your stutter, or what they’ll think of you because you stutter? Listener reactions can be as variable and unpredictable as stuttering itself. How well do you accept listener reactions? Does your acceptance of stuttering hinge on listener acceptance, as well as yours? This panel will present options for dealing with listener variables.
Through this interactive session, participants will:
- hear about the personal experiences, views and new ideas on handling listener reactions and what they mean relative to stuttering.
- gain helpful insights and ideas for building resilience in the face of listener rejection.
- brainstorm and practice responding in a different way to negative listener reaction through role play with self-observation.
- be willing to try new ways of responding to listener reactions in everyday life contexts.
About the presenters
Mary Wood
Mary first attended a conference for people who stutter in Ottawa in 1993. Since then, she has presented at conferences in the United States, Europe and Great Britain. In 2005, she was ordained as a Unity minister, a lesson that taught her you never know what’s around the next corner.
Tom Scharstein
Tom Scharstein is an entrepreneur and person who stutters from South Florida, USA. Tom has been in the stuttering support community for over 27 years and currently serves as the Chair of the World Stuttering Network (WSN).