Alan Badmington

Alan Badmington spoke about 'Changing the stuttering mindset' in the BSA conference call in August 2008. He explained that our thoughts and behaviours are directly influenced by our beliefs and self-image. During a lifetime of stammering, Alan had developed certain self-limiting beliefs, for example that he could not speak freely in front of groups, or people with whom he was not familiar, and could not say half of the alphabet.

In 2000, he acquired new tools to deal with speech blocks and words that held an emotional charge. He used them successfully in a controlled environment, but 'I realised that if I wanted to sustain my gains in the outside world, I needed to address other areas of my life.'

Alan started expanding his comfort zones. 'Keeping within one's comfort zones may well eliminate risk, but it severely limits our personal and professional growth', he said. Alan drew up a plan of action based on his list of self-limiting beliefs and did the things he believed he could not do. He set himself daily challenges - from getting up to going to bed; the greater the challenge, the greater the satisfaction he derived. Alan practised for hours phoning businesses, using fictitious enquiries. He also made a conscious decision to be more transparent about his speech, which had been his darkest secret for so many years. He seized every opportunity to approach total strangers in the street, on trains, at airports, restaurants and, indeed, anywhere. He said, 'I had a wonderful time. I spoke about stuttering and was amazed at the courtesy and interest displayed. It had a very desensitising effect upon me because I was bringing it out into the open'. Also one of Alan's greatest fears was public speaking, so he joined three public speaking clubs. Over the past 7 or 8 years, he has regularly given prepared and impromptu speeches, and taken part in competitions. His fear of addressing an audience has now totally vanished.

Another participant in the conference call had found that slowing down his rate of speech helped his fluency, and this had given him greater confidence to make eye contact with people. In response to questioning, Alan said that the tools he attained in 2000 were through the McGuire Programme, which teaches costal breathing and other aids. Richard Cave, the conference call facilitator, suggested that there are lots of tools out there (eg costal breathing, speed of speech, City Lit techniques) to help one's speech - and using a tool can get us to a certain point where we can actually challenge our comfort zones, as Alan had so brilliantly done. This generates the opposite of a vicious circle - a circle of creativity, of good experiences that are supportive of more good experiences, so it builds and builds.

Having changed his stuttering mindset, Alan is no longer reliant upon any techniques. However, he acknowledges the important role that they played in allowing him to expand his comfort zones. Without them, he confided that he would probably have lost confidence and abandoned further attempts to expand his comfort zones, when confronted by negative experiences. "Whatever tools are out there, use them. I think they can hasten one's journey", he added.

Conference calls are the first Tuesday of each month. Any BSA member is welcome to call in.

From the Winter 2008 issue of 'Speaking Out', page 9.