If you look around, you’ll find plenty of examples of people who stutter — actresses, actors, athletes, TV hosts, singers, performers, and even the U.S. President, Joe Biden. They all openly admit that yes, they suffered from stuttering. But they have seemingly overcome it — or, if you don’t like the word overcome, it’s still clear that stuttering doesn't stop them from pursuing their dreams, from accomplishing goals, and from achieving what they want.

So a very legitimate question is: “How can I do that?”

It's Not About the Tools

The first thing that comes to our mind when we think about stuttering cure is there must be some tool, some technique, some trick, maybe a pill, maybe shift of the mindset but there must be something that leads me to that new state of freedom.

When you go to speech therapy or to a speech program for stuttering, you expect - you're looking for those stuttering techniques, speech exercises for stuttering. Yes, and mindset shifts as well.

You're looking for the right one, "Please, give me the right one that truly works!" We expect that a stuttering cure is all about choosing the right tools.

And yes, the tools matter! But what usually happens is that we try something - a stuttering technique, a magic breathing exercise, or a magic mindset shift. And we see that it doesn't work. "So it didn't work. Give me the next one!" We're trying the next one, but it didn't work - let's go to the next one. The next one worked a little bit, good stuff! "But still it's not what I want so give me another one, please."

And it's an endless process and what happens, we say to ourselves internally like, "Yeah, probably we can manage stuttering to some extent but that's all we can do. So it's simply not curable."

I want to notice here that, for example, I run a Free From Stutter Facebook group and there are many, many members - my students as well. And what is so cool about the group is that people are sharing different tools they use. And they show the tools, and you can tell that you’ve never used such a tool. I’ve never used such a tool. But they achieved great results. The same way those people have never used my tools or the tools that I use with my students. And we also achieve great results.

The Gap - 3 Activities

You might be very puzzled here like, “What?! Completely different tools, achieving the same great results?” Exactly, that’s what I’m trying to say here.

The tools matter but the real change is not so much about the tools, it’s about the gap between using the tools at home like, practicing in the therapy room maybe to practicing the tools in a very, very safe environment with yourself and real-life, real-life pace, real-life pressure, the environment of real-life everyday interaction. There is a huge, huge gap.

This whole division between curable or not curable is all about how clear you are about closing this gap between learning the tools and the real-life.

I’ll share with you 3 activities, 3 skills, if you would that you want to master that will lead you inevitably, if you do those consistently, inevitably they will get you to the result that you want. Which is being able to use those techniques, those tools in real-life so that you can feel that you can speak on your terms. You can feel that there is no anxiety, there is no pressure. You can be authentic, you can be present. You can truly enjoy speaking interaction.

And if you’re not doing those 3 activities, if you’re not mastering those 3 skills, unfortunately, no matter how brilliant, how perfect your technique or tool is, you’re not getting any closer.

#1 Performance

So, the 3 activities. The first one, I call it performance. It’s basically practicing your techniques or any other tools that you’ve chosen in a public speaking environment.

Like for example, with my students - we have a small group where they do their assignments. And it’s already a bit of a public speaking environment. Somebody can watch you live at the same time I’m watching my students, obviously. So even though it’s a very safe environment, it still feels like public speaking.

We also have a bigger group - the Free From Stutter Facebook group where potentially like, thousands of people can watch your presentation. And it’s a little scarier, but still it’s a very safe environment. It’s a private group for people who stutter.

So, if you’re not a member, you can join the group and you can practice your tools whatever the are in a very safe environment.

We have a Speaking Club in the group, where we get together once a month and it’s a real group environment. So there are different ways how you can do that but you want to make sure that you have some secure space. Which is secure on the one hand but it feels like public speaking environment on the other hand.

And what’s so magic about this performance feeling is that - you’re getting on stage, the mic is yours and you practice your tools obviously, but you also feel that the most important thing is only you set the terms for how you actually speak. No one is pushing you, no one is pressing you. You truly decide. And it can be a tiny little introduction, one phrase, two phrases. It can be longer speaking on a topic for a several minutes. It doesn’t matter, you can regulate that and choose whatever you like.

And you can evolve, you can develop with this but you want to make sure that you’re consistently getting to this feeling that this is your mic, and you choose, you decide. And it’s
also a great way to explore the tools, it’s not an exam. So, you can see how the tool is working - what’s working, what’s not working.

And yes, it’s also a great test for your tools, if you really like the tools because if you don’t like them, you won’t use them.

#2 Disclosure

The next activity that you want to master is disclosure.

And by disclosure, I personally don’t mean a disclosure of stuttering or the fact that you’re a person who stutters. Like with my students, we don’t say, “I’m a person who stutters.” We say, “I’m in a speech program for stuttering so my speaking might be different or might be a little slower.” Maybe it’s not slower or might not be that different. But this way, we want to make sure we give ourselves permission (you give yourself permission) to use the tools in real-life settings.

To use those tools with your close friend, with your family member, with your co-workers, with your boss, in a new environment, - everywhere you’re able to “Boom!” And you easily disclose. It’s not a big deal for you.

Once you’ve mastered this skill, you don’t need to disclose anymore because you’re actually using the tools. They are the central part of your everyday speaking.

And if you’re not able to disclose, if you haven’t disclosed, if you’re not disclosing, if it’s like, “No way! I cannot do it!” Then guess what? You automatically shift to trying to be regular, trying to be normal, trying to be like everyone else, trying to be fluent. You’re instantly shifting to the identity where you don’t belong. And this identity shift is one of the core things you want to think about.

Once you have the tools — once you’ve committed to learning and applying them in real life — you’re no longer just a person who stutters. But you’re not a fluent person either.

Up to this point, you might’ve been trying to pretend, to present yourself as a regular fluent speaker. But with this new approach, you step onto a middle path — not fluent, not stuttering, but learning, exploring, and using your tools in real-life situations.

And yes, you accept the fact that you stutter. You disclose it this way. But, ironically, you might find that you hardly ever stutter this way.

#3 Recording

The third skill you want to master, the third activity you want to do is proactively creating real life, everyday speaking interactions, and recording yourself.

The magic of the recording is that you’re bringing that practice mode, this learning, and exploration into real life.

The real-life at that point, real-life interaction is not a test, it’s not an exam. “I have to be fluent.” It’s more about, “Okay, what do I feel at that point?” How do I bring that great feeling that I feel when I practice in the therapy room, at home, whatever it is for you, to that real-life moment of high pressure, time pressure, maybe emotional pressure. So, we want to feel the same, exactly the same way in real-life settings.

Stuttering Treatment Mindset

So, if you’re not doing those three activities — if you’re not mastering them — and you feel like,

‘Oh, why would I do that? I already practice at home! Please, just get into my subconscious mind and maybe change something there! I don’t want to do that performance, that disclosure, those recordings. You know, I can speak, I know how to speak. Do I really need that stupid stuff?’

If that’s how it feels for you, then — let’s be honest — in this state there’s no cure for you right now.

And yes, I get it. We need to acknowledge that this is how the thinking often goes when it comes to stuttering treatment — going to the doctor, in this case a speech therapist.

We’re expecting something like a pill: ‘Give me a pill, a medicine. Maybe there’s a device or an app I could use.’ I actually have a separate video about medications, apps, and devices. But of course, we don’t want to give away our power to those things.

Applying the Tools 'Sometimes'

You might say, ‘Yeah, okay. Give me that magic tool. Give me that magic breathing exercise, or anything.’ And that’s what many therapists focus on: ‘I’m giving you the tools. Now go, apply them.’

Parents of kids who stutter sometimes think the same way — that the therapist should give their child the tools, and then the child will apply them in real life. And yes, we, people who stutter, also often think in these terms.

For example, take a look at the beautiful TEDx talk by Megan Washington.

She’s a singer who stutters, and she says, ‘I know the tools, I even apply them sometimes.’ You can’t imagine how many people who stutter I’ve met who share the same idea: ‘I learned the tools, I know them, and I can apply them sometimes.’

And that’s what really kills me — what’s the point of learning the tools if you’re not applying them every day, in every speaking interaction? If you’re not clear on how those tools become part of your everyday speech?

Are You Ready?

So this is a real question for you. Are you ready to learn, to master those 3 activities I told you about? Performance, disclosure, and proactively creating and recording real-life interactions.

Are you ready to go on this path from learning those tools and techniques to actually feeling you’re able to speak in your real-life this new way? And to finally feel in your real-life interactions that speaking is relaxing, it’s effortless, it can be expressive. Are you ready for that?

And you might be very pumped up, optimistic, motivated, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll do it!” But if you give yourself a thought for more than five seconds…

(a good reminder about Mel Robbins and her five-second rule)

if you think about it for more than five seconds, your fear, a lot of fear are going to kick in and it will find a million reasons why it's not right, "It's not a good idea. I'm not ready!" It will find a way to make sure you're staying stuck where you are.

Because fear protects you. It wants you to stay safe. Yet, staying safe in that bubble, in that comfort zone, that box, and that cave, that cage is not safe at all. It's dangerous. That's what makes stuttering so powerful.

This longing for safety and protection, that's what lets stuttering really rule our life.

Disbelief in the Process

The first thing that stops us from walking that path is disbelief in the process.

I say, “Okay, here are the bricks. Let’s lay them down and build this beautiful building together.” You look at the bricks, then at the picture of the building, and say, “The bricks? The building? No way! Just give me the building!”

We don’t believe it can be that simple. “Just putting the bricks together? Really?” Yeah! That’s exactly how you build it — one brick at a time.

Everyone I’ve ever worked with who stutters is amazed by how simple the tools actually are. For example, I teach the hand technique — feeling how to relax, how to start the first sound, how to feel the connection, how to split speech into pieces, and how to make it expressive. The basic tools are very simple. They don’t change. They’re not rocket science — anyone can do them.

But when we realize how simple they are, a kind of protection mechanism kicks in. Our brain says, “No way! It can’t be that simple. It has to be more complicated than that!”

We don't quite believe that it's that simple. Because if that's that simple, it's all about ME DOING that stuff! Doing that performance and exposing myself!

Disbelief in Yourself

The second thing that stops us on this path is disbelief in ourselves. Which is basically fear.

Imagine this: you need to present in front of other people. You need to go live and everyone will see you. “No way!” you say. You need to disclose — “no way!” You need to approach strangers and record that — “no way!”

We feel: “I simply cannot handle it.”

Deep, deep inside — and if you think you are unique in this sense, you’re not — every person who stutters feels the same way. It feels absolutely impossible. It feels like,“I’m simply going to die.”

A great analogy where you can really sense this is a cold shower. I often talk about cold showers and ask my students to do them step by step. It’s amazing how this process works.

You start with your feet under cold — freezing cold — water. Then you move up to your knees, and that’s where you feel the threshold, the limit. It feels unbearably cold. So what do you do? You stop there.

But as you proceed, as you stay a bit longer, you go higher — to your thighs, to your hands — gradually reaching your head and your whole body. And after that, when you go back to your knees, guess what? You feel almost nothing. Compared to your whole body, the knees feel like a breeze, with barely any sensation at all.

The same thing happens with speaking. The first live presentation — even a tiny, short introduction with just a couple of phrases — feels like a huge deal. The first disclosure feels like, “My heart is jumping out of my chest!” The first time approaching strangers feels like, “I’m going to die.”

But once you’ve done it — and you’ve done it ten times — you move to the next level. When you look back at those initial interactions, the things that once felt totally impossible, you might still feel excitement, but you no longer feel anxiety about them.

Those internal walls — invisible walls — are very real. Fear makes them feel very real.

And the only way to break those walls is through action.

It’s like being in a dark room and imagining there’s a monster inside. As long as the room is dark, the monster exists. When you turn on the light and see that there is no monster, it disappears. But as long as you stay in the dark, the monster is absolutely real.

Your Ego

The third thing that is stopping us (or maybe the first one 🙂), standing on the path between learning the tools and actually using them freely and easily in real life, is your ego.

And this might be the biggest one. 🙂

You can accept everything up to a point, and then you go, “Who are you to teach me how to speak? I know how to speak. I can speak! Just get into my subconscious and fix it!”

No. There is no cure. And I cannot fix anything in your mind or in your brain. Yes, we tend to be perfectionists, always looking for the perfect technique or the perfect tool — but it simply doesn’t exist.

Your path to freedom from stuttering is through imperfect action.

And yes, we tend to overcomplicate things: “Give me something magical!” It feels like it cannot be that simple. But the process is very simple — consistently practicing those three activities that I gave you, explained, and showed you. And I guarantee that you’re going to get to the end result that you want.

The process is simple — I’m not saying it’s easy, though. Disbelief in the process, fear, and ego are very powerful. More powerful than you might think. But letting go of them can be a truly life-changing experience.

To Sum Up

So, to sum up: most people will find that stuttering is not curable. And ironically, these are the people who are searching for a cure. And yes – there is no magic cure, so it makes sense to stop looking for one.

What does make stuttering curable is clarity about the process: how you go from learning the tools to actually applying them easily in real life. So, a great idea is to find someone who can guide you along that path. And yes, I’m here to help you get there—and to discover for yourself that stuttering is curable.