（１）Why don't we stutter in singing?

(2)Why don’t we stutter when speaking to ourselves and sharing reading with others. 

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(3)The reason and prevention of recurrence after it was once thought to be cured.　
　

　
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(4) Accompanying actions and gestures　

occurs when speaking is blocked, such as stamping the floor, making a fist and shaking hands, are called accompanying action. Since my 20s, I've tried to refrain from them. However, in my teens, I couldn't help doing them. It doesn't mean I liked them. I just do them instantly to break through the condition that is held. This is something we intend to do, not something that comes out of unconsciousness. On the moment of the action, I can get a crack of a time for utterance. When it is customized, however, it tends to appear unconsciously and its effect will be less. We'd better not depend on accompanying actions.
　　It doesn't necessarily mean that we should not move our body. When we try to speak in front of people standing straight, we feel tensed and tend to have more formal wordings. When we take a close look at excellent speeches of westerners, there are effective gestures. There might be more necessity of gestures because of an English characteristic that it has stronger accent than Japanese. Proper gestures can give a visual impact. Natural gestures such as facial expression, eyeshot, posture and hand motion make our speaking smooth and also give a good impression to the listener. We'd like to make good use of them.

　
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(5) Why is it difficult to speak slowly?

Some stuttering people speak very fast. They finish a word or a phrase quite quickly and put a longer pause in between phrases. Listeners sometimes find it difficult to catch. Difficult to catch　⇒ Asked to tell it again　⇒ Tell it again quickly. This kind of circuit is made and sometimes it takes longer to make understood.
　　The reason a stuttering person speaks fast is that he wants to finish conveyance quickly because of his utterance anxiety and also shorten the time the listener cares about his way of speaking in my opinion. Here occurs the difficulty to speak slowly.
　　
　　Comparing a healthy person and a stuttering person, there's a big difference in their psychology behind speaking quickly. In the quick speaking of a healthy person, there's no room in between phrases, that is, it goes fluently. He can verbalize whatever he thought of right away. O the other hand, when a stuttering person speaks quickly, he has a consciousness to find out what to say before verbalizing it, and then he bursts into speaking.
　　It might be unfamiliar for a stuttering person to speak concentrating on thinking. Taking an example in a politician's way of speaking, Prime Minister Koizumi's is quick and clear. Its extreme opposite, we might say, is deceased Prime Minister Ohira. Some of you may remember his way of speaking. At the press interview, he went, "Ah, woo, as for that matter, ah---." I imagine that he was very careful which word to use. It made him speak that way. However, his halting way of speaking didn't give a bad image. Moreover, I think many people felt him faithful.
　　If the stuttering person's posture is changed into the one that he can speak as his thinking goes along, then he can be greatly free from the capture of stuttering. The more good experiences he gets when speaking, the more he gets confident. Then it will reduce the anxiety. As a result of it, I think he feels he doesn't have to speak quickly and he can manage to speak as he brings his thoughts together.
　　
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(7) The difference of mind between when in recitation and when in conversation　
　
Both recitation and conversation have utterance. But the state of mind seems to be different. As a concrete step for stuttering betterment, establishing confidence through recitation practice is better than conversation practice.
　The reason is that we can keep a certain speaking speed and the pace is not to be disturbed easily. Though there might be a little difference between when others are following the lines and when not, I think, generally speaking, it is easier to be stable in recitation comparing to conversation. That being so, we can foster stable breathing, relaxed feeling in speaking through recitation practice.
　On the other hand, conversation can be affected by the other's speaking tempo. In case I speak slowly and the other speaks fast, conversation can be disturbed getting each other's direct response. The way of speaking gets forced and runaround. Besides, it doesn't have the medium of letters. It makes the speaker even pressed in conveying his thoughts. So we need to think of some ways, when we want to apply the stable feeling we've got in recitation to conversation.
　Role play that two people read the dialogue might be a great bridge to it. We can actually experience the stream of conversation this way.
When I think back my own process to be free from stuttering, I find it was a great help to my skill and also to my mind.

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(8) Stuttering betterment and internal reform are the same.
　
Diabetes, heart disease and cerebral hemorrhage used to be called diseases of adults. Now they are called lifestyle related diseases. As improper custom boosts the rate of these diseases, it is said to be important that we should live with a clear idea about healthy lifestyle including eating habit, exercise and rest and carry them out.
　　We have such scenes that we feel, "If only I could say my name easily at the very beginning on the phone." "If I could say good morning easily at the morning meeting." "If only I could say numbers easily."
　　Through my experience, however, I always had something annoying one after another even after solving one problem.　Stuttering betterment is similar to internal reform. If you strongly hope to make a speech reform, you need to customize the way of speaking you practice in "Telephone Counseling & Lesson" when you talk with your family and close friends.
　　When we speak with family or very close friends, we usually don't pay much attention on how to speak. But if you try to make use of these conversations with a lot of care, they will bring you a great confidence in speaking in workplace, on the phone and in front of people.
（Can you pay good attention to your way of speaking even in marital quarrel? If you can, you are wonderful!!）　
　
　
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(9) Telephone has nothing tough but not easy.
　
Some people say that they feel easy to speak on the phone because they don't see the other's face. This sounds incredible for those who have stuttering problem.
　　When I was an elementary school student, telephone became common in many houses. One day, it was brought to my house and put in the hallway. First, father called the noodle shop for the delivery service. I remember feeling very impressed. We didn't have to go to the shop and the noodle was delivered. However, I didn't have courage to use this machine. Even when I wanted to call one of my friends, I worried that I have to say my name right away when someone answered and then I have to ask if I could speak to my friend. My mind was completely halted when I think of it.
　
　Some people say they found their stuttering problem after growing up. I found the trigger for many of them was the telephone at the workplace. As the reasons that telephone at workplace is stressful:
■Telephone manner seminar in freshman training course
　　We are taught that we represent the company to callers. We feel it is different from talking with friends and get tensed. We worry if we can speak well or we might make a mistake.
■The person on the phone is not known.
　　Anytime, we answer the phone thinking it is from an important business client. If the call is about what you are not in charge, we are pressed we have to convey the important point clearly to the man in charge.
■Colleagues and supervisors are listening to his speaking on the phone.
　　It's safe to say the biggest cause for psychological pressure is the responses from people around.　When I had started working in an office, I remember calling my clients while all the coworkers were speaking on their phones. I had to worry more than other people. And it made the efficiency of my work worse. Even more, I got very tired.
As you notice, talking on the telephone in workplace makes us feel that we are in between fires.

　　Just for reference, I'll tell you the key to speaking well on the phone. That is:
■To quiver your vocal cord and make a long sound similar to "Uh" when you start speaking. This is not a clear sound as one in a word, but the sound generated when the air from lungs comes through vocal cord. You can make this sound just before you start a phrase. It goes like this, "Uh, may I speak to Mr. Tanabe?" This can be also applied to speech. It makes the utterance easier and also good for listeners.
■To make the first sound long when you start speaking. It is also effective.
■To move your upper body slightly and naturally instead of standing straight and stiff. If your body is stiff, your words are going to be also stiff. It will help a lot.
■To have imaginary rehearsals and actually practice saying necessary phrases with voice.

　　In any case, it is the most important for you to keep the right way of speaking you have practiced in telephone lessons in every day life.

　
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(11) The reason people say complete cure of stuttering is difficult.

Even in the case you have started stuttering in the infancy and have almost no problem after growing up, some of you might be feeling you've got the stuttering to start again when speaking accuracy was demanded in work. In this kind of occasion, the more you try to get lid of utterance anxiety, the more your words get stiff. It makes speaking even more difficult. I can cite the following as reasons of difficulty in making stuttering betterment in your own way.

１．You don't know the right way of speaking.　
　　Once you start worrying about stuttering, you need to be conscious about speaking in a proper way. But it is hard to find the concrete way with application of abdominal breathing because we are used to speaking after hearing words through ears from our childhood.
　　In many case, you'll work hard in vain in the trick of if you can say it or not, and repeat labored utterance without knowing what kind of consciousness you should have toward speaking.
　
２．You have accepted that anxiety of utterance is abhorrent.　
　　Once you experience you get stuck with a word, you start worrying it might happen again. It is a dreadful experience that you can't say a word that has to be said. Once you have this kind of experience, you feel a fear comes up in many scenes.
　　The important point in stuttering betterment is not having anxiety, but expanding the range under control, where you can speak what you want to even with anxiety. If you can control utterance, you'll have no problem even though your anxiety is remained. When you think you shouldn't have anxiety or you try to get lid of it, you'll be overwhelmed buy it and have too much haste.
　　"Telephone counseling & lesson" puts value on custom forming of right way of speaking and speaking experiences in the midst of utterance anxiety.

　
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(12) You can be a good speaker even with utterance anxiety.

As every stuttering person knows, the mind with utterance anxiety gives us bad feeling. We all think, "If only we could speak freely without anxiety." "If the stuttering were cured, I could speak freely without anxiety."
　　Certainly, the final stage of stuttering betterment is to be able to speak any time without utterance anxiety. But the most important point is its process.

　　When I think back the way I came through, I spent about 5 years controlling my speech almost 100%. During this period I had no trouble in speaking, though I sometimes felt utterance anxiety arise in my mind. I just let it be, and tried to focus on customizing the proper way of speaking, which brought quite a good result. If I speak of my present condition, the utterance anxiety is just in my memory and it doesn't actually arise. If I had the anxiety even now, I wouldn't be qualified to give any instruction for stuttering betterment.

　　If you are trying to get lid of the utterance anxiety, or weeping for it saying, "Oh, my stuttering still remains. When will the day come when we have no anxiety?" you have wrong understanding, which easily overwhelms your mind. If you have an experience having bitten by a dog, you might be terrified just seeing a dog coming toward you with his tail wagged. You know it won't bite you. You're your past memory makes you alert. In the same way, if you repeat having the experience that you couldn't say a word you wanted to and terrified for many years, it's not easy to get lid of utterance anxiety in the scenes of telephone answering and public speech. If you can control the way of your speaking even with utterance anxiety, you can say that your stuttering has been cured.
　　I would say a man who accepts himself with the idea that he is a stuttering person and needs to be careful in the way of speaking can actually speak even better. The problem helps him become a better speaker.
　

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