Simple social situations can be embarrassing for those who suffer from stuttering, who account for about 1% of the world’s population. Being a child with a speech impairment entails a constant fear of being called upon in class, a phobia of public speaking, and, of course, incessant bullying. Stuttering is a speech issue that, on the surface, is brought on by the unintentional repeating or lengthening of specific words and consonants. However, stuttering can also be brought on by genetics, child development, neurophysiology, and family dynamics.
Additionally, extreme worry, tension, and despair can be brought on by stuttering in those who experience it. However, having a stutter need not prevent you from pursuing your dreams, as the following industry leaders and many others have demonstrated. You really can defeat it, as Joe Biden once stated in a letter. When you succeed, you will have gained strength from your victory. Here are a few influential figures who overcame stuttering to achieve great success in a range of industries.
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont Woods is a golf superstar who has won the PGA Player of the Year award 11 times. Being the only person of colour on the field and having been trained to play golf since a young age, he frequently outperformed his rivals. Growing up, he also struggled with a stammer.
In a letter he wrote in May of last year to a high schooler who was experiencing severe bullying because of his stammer and was considering committing suicide, Woods wrote, “I know what it’s like to be different and to sometimes not fit in.” I too stuttered as a child, and I used to talk to my dog, who would listen until he fell asleep, the speaker said.
Joe Biden
The 47th Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, was one of the youngest senators in history when he was 29 years old. A month after his election, his wife and daughter died in a vehicle accident. He has made two presidential runs. He experienced an aneurysm shortly after the initial try (which he fully recovered from). His most recent tragedy was the passing of his oldest son, Beau Biden, a former Delaware attorney general.
He struggled with stuttering until he was in his 20s, but he conquered it by reading poetry aloud in front of a mirror to improve his cadence and by putting himself in as many public speaking situations as he could.
Biden once saw a middle school kid on a class trip in Washington, DC, who was having trouble controlling his stutter. He replied to the boy in a letter: “You can defeat it just like I did. When you succeed, you will have gained strength from your victory. Since then, Joe Biden has been outspoken about his stammer from infancy, encouraging others to do the same.
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson has overcome a lot to get to where he is as a young African-American child born to a single mother in Chattanooga, Tennessee, amid segregation. He participated in the Civil Rights movement while still a student and was an usher at Martin Luther King Jr.’s burial.
His speech therapist urged him to pursue acting, although he continues to have daily stuttering issues to this day. He quipped, “I was the other day on the set of Captain America, and they screamed ‘Action!’ and I said, ‘G-g-g-et…'” while speaking at the American Institute for Stuttering gala in 2013. A G day it was. So I go through my days. I still stutter even if I have G days, P days, B days, and S days.
He followed his narrative by offering his go-to word, which was also a guaranteed cure for stuttering. It rhymes with “mother mucker” (hint:
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson, a famed British comic actor, has never been known for being talkative; in his most well-known role, he played the practically mute but no less bumbling Mr. Bean. However, Atkinson credits playing with helping him overcome his stammer. He was bullied as a young guy, and the only place he was able to speak without stuttering was on stage, where he excelled.
Atkinson acknowledges that he still struggles with his stutter occasionally, but claims that it goes away when he plays a different character, which may have been the initial motivation for him to pursue acting. He also overcomes his stammer by incorporating elements of it into his acting, such as over-articulating some syllables to get around challenging consonants.
Richard Branson
One look at Richard Branson today makes it difficult to imagine the dyslexic, stuttering, and illiterate 8-year-old boy he once was. His headmaster predicted that he would either go to prison or become a millionaire when he graduated from high school.
Fortunately, he repeatedly succeeded in the second. He now owns Virgin Group, a multibillion dollar conglomerate of over 400 businesses operating in eight distinct industries. He also acknowledges that he still has stuttering issues, albeit over time he has grown more at ease.
His words of wisdom for those who stutter and fear public speaking? Try to communicate with your best buddy in mind. Try to unwind and converse as you would in your living room, whether there are one person, ten people, or 1,000 people there.
Jack Welch
Jack Welch, one of the most notable businesspeople of the modern era, began his career at GE in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as a junior chemical engineer before becoming CEO. While expanding into emerging countries, he helped GE’s market value rise from $12 billion in 1981 to $280 billion and made 600 acquisitions.
He relocated to an office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza after purchasing RCA. He credits his mother, who encouraged him from an early age and told him, “It’s because you’re so brilliant. “, with helping him overcome his stuttering and his small-fry stature in high school as the shortest child in every class. A brain like yours could not be matched by anyone’s tongue.
Jack Welch, a stutterer well into adulthood, is a perfect example of a person who would not be limited by his flaws.
Conclusion
What prevents you? Whether you stammer, put things off, write poorly, or have another issue that you believe will always keep you back, you can learn from these faccomplished leaders.