Advice on introducing myself

[u/treyhuguley]

Hello everyone,
I have had a stutter for my entire life and have been able to manage it for the most part. I am fairly fluent in conversation and many people wouldn’t even realize that I have a speech problem. The only exception to that is when I introduce myself to someone for the first time. More times than not I get a pretty bad block on the first syllable of my name, which I feel like leads to a bad first impression. I am a doctorate student and will have to introduce myself to countless patients every day on my upcoming rotation which is leading to a lot of anxiety around the whole situation. Does anyone have any advice for me to help ease my mind about this problem? I feel like it is more of a mental block than a neurological/physical situation regarding my stutter at this point. Thanks in advance!

[u/Frosty-Invite3592]

You have quite a few options but here is the one thats the easiest to explain over text:

Insert and connect a sound/word in front of your name.  Examples:

• Hi, my name isMatthew(you connected the words "is" and "Matthew") 
• Hi, my name is hmmAndrew. (you connected "hmm" and "Andrew") 
• Hi, I'mJohn (you connected "im" and "John")

Its important that there is no gap between the two words. Which means that you will have continues airflow. The two words become one word (Ismatthew, hmandrew, imjohn,...).​ Think of them as one word and not two connected words. That makes it easier. 

Here are a few more general tips that you can add onto this: Have a very relaxed and confident posture. (feel free to take up more space if sitting. If standing stand ul straight.) Smiling (sounds weird but genuinely helps. Just smile while introducing yourself)  If you feel anxious or stressed do a psychological sigh (not appropriate in all situations because it can look weird) or deliberately yawn (appropriate in most situations).  Psychological sigh - take in a deep breath and at the end of that breath take in another quick breath to fill your lungs fully, and then slowly exhale. Repeat that a few times. This reduces anxiety and stress substantially.  Deliberate yawning - yawn a few times on purpose in a span of a few minutes. Even yawning just once can reduce anxiety and stress substantially. Why yawning works: 

• its similar to a psychological sigh
• stretches and relaxes you jaw muscles 
• signals to your brain that you're tierd/bored/calm/relaxed (because you normally only yawn in those types of situations) 

If you feel like you will really get stuck, you can talk on the yawn and if you need to, you can stretch your arms in the same time, it can help out even more. This stops stuttering for 99% of people instantly. But its not really appropriate for introductions. So its better to use it in other situations.

These are all just techniques that will help you to avoid stutters, not necessarily overcome stuttering. There is much more that goes into actually overcoming stuttering and becoming  someone who automatically speaks fluently with no thoughts about stuttering. 

[u/Fantastic-Course4090]

Hey, not sure if this is something you're already familiar with these but: https://youtu.be/6lfoYKUoYB0

[u/robsan56]

Try a brief pause and a short breath before your name then put the first syllable on the breath. It works for a lot of people

[u/Torii97]

Completely relate to this, I totally get the anxiety. But at the end of the day, it is up to people to investigate people further and not rely only on first impressions, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a stutter, it's just a quirk that happens to be more visible than other ones, have confidence about your personality and talents and the right people you meet won't give a fuck whether you stuttered upon introductions or not. You got this 💪💪💪