Does anyone have trouble with their speech?

[MelG]

I seem to get so tongue tied and struggle at times to get words out and to say a whole paragraph without gettin stuck and stuttering and stammering.

I seem to be unable to say a sentance without muddling my words and gettin nervous this happens with almost everyone apart from my family and close mate.
So in the end I just try to keep what i say as short as possible and normally just end up givin one word or one sentance answers. I do this as im so scared to say more incase i get muddled and then I'll be embarrassed but then end up being frustrated cause I wanted to say more.

I seem to think i do this cause im so nervous around people that my speech in affected.

anyone else have the same problem??

[Jables]

Yes. I usually communicate in small sentences because after a few seconds of talking I usually become completely self focussed and end up getting flustered and start talking faster and start mumbling.

I've been experimenting with forcing myself to speak more slowly and being more concise lately though which seems to work as when people hear what I'm saying clearly I tend to get more feedback and the whole coversation goes much more smoothly.

[bluemaus]

I stumble over my words even with family and close friends to be honest. I've seen a decline in my speech since I've left high school (i.e. where I was surrounded by people on an almost daily basis.) I've become a lot more unsure of how to say things and I think my vocabulary has shrunk. I can relate to the 'scared to say more in case I get muddled'. Everything just gets messed up in my head, especially when I'm nervous.

I think my problem however is also partly due to the fact I rarely get out any more and I don't really interact with my classmates at uni. I don't use it, therefore I'm losing it.

[hint_of_amaretto]

Originally Posted by MelG

I seem to get so tongue tied and struggle at times to get words out and to say a whole paragraph without gettin stuck and stuttering and stammering.

I seem to be unable to say a sentance without muddling my words and gettin nervous this happens with almost everyone apart from my family and close mate.
So in the end I just try to keep what i say as short as possible and normally just end up givin one word or one sentance answers. I do this as im so scared to say more incase i get muddled and then I'll be embarrassed but then end up being frustrated cause I wanted to say more.

I seem to think i do this cause im so nervous around people that my speech in affected.

anyone else have the same problem??

absolutely, 100 per cent, you are not alone there xxx

When I speak, I feel like I must come across as a slurring, bumbling imbesile...

It's really frustrating that I feel I am able to write... well, pretty lucidly (English was my best subject during my school days and I'm not boasting (as if it's a big deal or anything) but for illustration's sake, only, I got an A* and A in English when I did my GCSEs, 11 years ago... When I speak however, I feel I must come across as having a very poor command of the English lang., because I just get a complete mental block and all my vocabulary entirely fails me, resulting in me coming out with mumbled one word answers and awkward and inappropriate laughter to try to cover up my embarrassment most of the time.

I don't know if it affects you with everyone you speak to; It used to with me, however these days, it tends to happen most when I'm speaking to people in positions of authority, such as my supervisors at work as well as my very confident, "social butterfly"-colleagues. It's particularly bad when they stare right at me, as if they're expecting me to say something really profound or interesting or something and maintain eye contact, I find.

Interestingly, it doesn't seem to affect me so much when I'm amongst my (few) friends anymore, which is something at least (for me).

[MelG]

Originally Posted by hint_of_amaretto

absolutely, 100 per cent, you are not alone there xxx

When I speak, I feel like I must come across as a slurring, bumbling imbesile...

It's really frustrating that I feel I am able to write... well, pretty lucidly (English was my best subject during my school days and I'm not boasting (as if it's a big deal or anything) but for illustration's sake, only, I got an A* and A in English when I did my GCSEs, 11 years ago... When I speak however, I feel I must come across as having a very poor command of the English lang., because I just get a complete mental block and all my vocabulary entirely fails me, resulting in me coming out with mumbled one word answers and awkward and inappropriate laughter to try to cover up my embarrassment most of the time.

I don't know if it affects you with everyone you speak to; It used to with me, however these days, it tends to happen most when I'm speaking to people in positions of authority, such as my supervisors at work and my much more confident, "social butterfly"-colleagues. It's particularly bad when they stare right at me, as if they're expecting me to say something really profound or interesting or something and maintain eye contact, I find.

It does affect me with the majority of people i speak to. Apart from close family members. It is so much worse in like interview situations or when im put on the spot. Yeh i tend to laugh to try an make out im confident and assured.

[everythings illuminated]

Yes I'm really struggling with this lately. I work in retail, where I'm in constant contact with people. It's a really nerve racking enviroment for me & when talking with customers im constantly stumbling over words, miss pronouncing and literally getting stuck mid sentance having to repeat a word/ sentance. Also I have a habit of talking really quietly due to shyness/ nerves. I get people just staring at me, they must think im so dumb, everyone thinks im useless at work just so glad im leaving this horrible job next week

[JosieFrench]

I can relate to this. I even get scared just to say a sentence because I'm afraid of how it might come out sometimes. I always find that I pronounce words incorrectly more than stutter etc. Anyone else get that? It makes me seem so dumb to people when actually I'm pretty smart, but I think I must show that in other ways.

[Geminus]

Try to breathe, slow your thoughts down and think about what it is you want to say.. and work from there to get your words out as you mean them to come out.

[Mr. Spaceman]

Always found it difficult to speak due to trembling, my mouth going dry and so tense that I could barely open it. I now take beta blockers which has helped a bit.

[Tom123]

I used to have a really bad stutter when I was at my least confident. It has gotten alot better now though, however....

Originally Posted by hint_of_amaretto

When I speak, I feel like I must come across as a slurring, bumbling imbesile...

It's really frustrating that I feel I am able to write... well, pretty lucidly (English was my best subject during my school days and I'm not boasting (as if it's a big deal or anything) but for illustration's sake, only, I got an A* and A in English when I did my GCSEs, 11 years ago... When I speak however, I feel I must come across as having a very poor command of the English lang., because I just get a complete mental block and all my vocabulary entirely fails me

I feel like this also. (I didn't do quite aswell as you in my English GCSEs though)

[Emski]

I have the same problemo i struggle to talk to people, especially in interviews, so tell me about yourself, i giggle and say "i dont know" pathetic Emma, absolutely pathetic i dont know what to do anymore.

Sometimes i'll be talking to someone and then i'd just end up not making sense by rushing not saying the right words in order to make people understand, and i look like a right idiot, the thing is i am far from an idiot i'm getting all hot and anxious just thinking about it, OH gosh this is just bringing back the bad day i have had today :'(

[thefallen]

I have this same problem. I think part of it is that I don't get enough practice speaking, but nerves don't help either. I also don't open my mouth wide enough when I speak. So people must think I am a mumbling idiot.

[!>Y\e5l-%h-NMw>cH]

I hate my Black Country accent which is one of if not the worst accents.

When I try and speak proper English it just doesn't feel right, natural and I think I sound weak if that makes any sense.

I talk too fast, mumble and stutter too at times and it get's worse when I'm nervous.

[GhostOnMagneticTape]

You are not alone Mel, I totally sympathize... my speech has been a major contributing reason for my SA, I swear people think I'm stupid when I speak.

[guile42]

oh

[Anxious Adam Black]

Originally Posted by everythings illuminated

Yes I'm really struggling with this lately. I work in retail, where I'm in constant contact with people. It's a really nerve racking enviroment for me & when talking with customers im constantly stumbling over words, miss pronouncing and literally getting stuck mid sentance having to repeat a word/ sentance. Also I have a habit of talking really quietly due to shyness/ nerves. I get people just staring at me, they must think im so dumb, everyone thinks im useless at work just so glad im leaving this horrible job next week

I can almost relate as I work (or worked as of the end of this week) in retail. Although working in retail just about helped me communicate clearer especially to customers, mainly because I was in a position where I HAD to communicate clearly to customers just so I can avoid horrifying looks of bemusement. Shame I couldn't transfer this towards my colleagues. Besides, management was terrible and the environment was dull. I don't regret leaving...

Back on topic, no offence to foreign people but when I try to speak sometimes I sound flipping foreign! Like I'm grasping English for the first time! Makes me doubt my own intelligence when I stumble and fall over words like an idiot. Maybe that's why I overcompensate by typing too much on online forums and such.


Er...so in short, yes...yes sir I do.

[bunkoff]

As I've got older, I appear to mumble a lot more than I used to and never seem to be able to find the right words as I find the range of my vocabulary to be limited. Often I just stop mid-sentence because I don't know how to really explain what I actually am attempting to convey

[FunkyMonkey]

yeah i answer in 1 words or end any coversation as quickly as i can thats mainly cus i hate ppl starin at me tho lol i know their not starin rly their just lookin at me to talk to me but it makes me feel like im under attack for some reason, so i always look away or pretend im doin something. (Thats with my family tho I couldnt even talk to a stranger)

maybe u could try that tho when sum1 is talkin to u just take ur mind off them an do anything while talkin to them.

[bluemaus]

Originally Posted by kafkafan

I tend to talk very fast and high pitched, and either too quietly or (in my head, though probably not really) too loudly. I mumble horribly too, even when I'm relaxed.

This is not how I recall you speaking.

I messed up the initial introduction on the phone at work too - I'd just panic when the phone rang and it would come out as a garbled, shaky mess. It made me feel worse and worse every time I messed it up.

[GhostOnMagneticTape]

I'm thinking about starting a "Speech & Voice problems" social group on here for people to discuss and share ideas on how to overcome them, think it would be worth a go?

[bluemaus]

Originally Posted by AlienBuddha

I'm thinking about starting a "Speech & Voice problems" social group on here for people to discuss and share ideas on how to overcome them, think it would be worth a go?

Sounds like a good idea. I'd join.

[W!llow]

I tend to get a lot of mind blanks and can get a bit stumbly at times a lot worse when I'm tired or anxious. Usually because I don't want to be an irritation it tends to make me stop when I get like that and change the subject back to the other person, that is if the other person hasn't already taken over. It can happen with friends and family too, all communication. I find it really frustrating because it isn't who I feel inside.

[GoldFish]

well alot of the time i dont even want to be heard speaking so i probably come across as really boring and generic and sometimes i stutter. however in other situations i can be really articulate and interesting but i rarely show it.

[warmness]

Oh deffinatly, I stumble on myself all the time, I get alot of people asking me what I just said, it's quite embarrasing

[Salusa87]

Yes more so when im feeling selfconscious, especially its im not sure of the standard protocol.

[piesJoy]

Sometimes.

[well_guy]

Hehe this thread reminded me of a meeting i had with clients out of town a few days ago, the meeting had about 15 people in it - and we all had to introduce ourselfs when it came to my turn i just focused on one person in the board room and said my name and stutered on my job title... it was so funny for me because i didnt see it comming.

[HelloWorld]

The King.

I never shout. I find it odd that so many people have pointed this out to me. It's not something I'd keep track of in others.

People rarely understand what I'm saying but it's more that I never know what I'm talking about.