You are what you think
By John Hannon

John Hannon 'I could reduce the anxiety that 'caused' my stammering by taking responsibility for what I thought and changing my thinking'

I first encountered the City Lit when I joined an interiorised stammering course with Carolyn Cheasman and Rachel Everard in 2001. I found the course extremely valuable and when I started on my journey towards becoming an executive coach I suggested to Carolyn and Rachel that I design and deliver a two day workshop on coaching skills for people who stammer at the City Lit.

My belief that coaching could be useful to people who stammer was founded in my own journey towards greater fluency. Over recent years I had become more aware of the way I thought about speaking. I observed that I was always fluent when I was alone, and feeling at ease and relaxed whereas I was more likely to stammer if I felt under pressure. I also observed that I could reduce the anxiety that 'caused' my stammering by taking responsibility for what I thought about and deliberately changing my thinking. For example, I realised that I often demanded 'perfection' in my speech which magnified my issues in not being fluent. I challenged this thinking pattern by talking openly about my stammering to my friends and colleagues and asking them what my stammering was like for them. To my pleasant surprise it wasn't such a big deal for them as it was for me! Gradually I learned to care less about my lack of fluency and more about what I was saying, and paradoxically I became more fluent.

As I pursued my coaching training I realised that I had been practising cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) on myself. As I discovered more about this branch of psychology I realised that when used in coaching it could have significant benefits for people who stammer.

I designed the workshop using my own coaching model and coaching techniques.

Day one

This began with an ice-breaker followed by a session about what each person wanted to achieve in the workshop. This was followed by some work to explore each person's stammering through an investigation of what happened when they stammered and the specific conditions that affected them most. Each participant then designed a personal action plan for the period between the sessions. Finally there was a session of reflection about the learning from the day.

Day Two

Following a two week break, everyone shared what they had learned from their experience in implementing their action plans. Then we explored in greater depth the limited thinking patterns that the group members had about their speech, using CBT understandings. Lastly there was a session of setting goals for the future.

The feedback at the end was positive. Everyone found the experience enjoyable and interesting. I followed up with the participants three months later to find out how they were getting on. The trend was that they had found the workshop to be beneficial at the time, e.g. "I felt more relaxed about my stammer. I also felt better about myself as a person". However, there were mixed views about how long the results lasted, e.g. "on the whole, I think I have moved 'one step closer' and am grateful for that." and "I've slipped back into my comfortable old ways".

I found the workshop very valuable in exploring how coaching could benefit people who stammer. Clearly it was effective at the time, but with limited sustainability, which is not surprising given that any change needs disciplined application over a period of time. I found that coaching a group can be challenging because of the diversity of experience, but that many people enjoy the mutual sharing that it offers.

Overall, I was satisfied with the outcome, but the experience reinforced my belief in the effectiveness of one-to-one coaching. I have since worked with a client on her fluency, and applied some of the lessons I learned.

John Hannon is an executive coach and trainer who also coaches people who stammer. He has a diploma in coaching skills and is currently working on a Masters degree in coaching at Middlesex University. For further information go to www.newprojections.com or contact John at john.hannon@newprojections.com

For further information about the City Lit go to www.citylit.ac.uk/stammeringtherapy or our City Lit web page.

From the Autumn 2005 edition of Speaking Out

Related articles:
Life coach or speech coach? - Winter 2006
Coaching for people who stammer by John Hannon, Winter 2004
Coming clean about stammering by John Hannon, Spring 2004