Herbertpur: 3rd Jan 2010

It was very cold today. Cloud formations like mare’s tail in the sky. It must be snowing up in the higher ranges- I thought. It began raining and Nishu and I realised that no one will dare to go out in this weather. But- behold- A and V arrived. I sent Nishu off – to give them some privacy and then, we started. We discussed:
Since stopping stammering completely is impossible- we need to learn how to change the character of our stammering. Hard stammering can be changed into gentle, forward moving, soft stammering. In other words- as Van Riper said- we all know talking; what we dont- and need to learn is – to stammer fluently.
After discussing this concept and some practice rounds, I asked A and V to make their presentation; They came prepared to talk about “Ohm’s Law” and “water” (from inorganic Chemistry point of view). Rule was- they had to use bouncing/ prolongation and speak in a louder volume (we sat all the way back at the end of the hall).
Later, towards the end- I asked them to talk about ‘their’ stammering and related experiences. Finally we shared some stuttering jokes and dispersed laughing. Yes, laughter is a good medicine. But you need to know how to apply it- and the right dosage!