Simple things are the hardest to do. We all know that when you are talking to someone, you should maintain eye contact. We even teach children to look at someone when talking to them. You either come out as shy or sly if you do not look someone in the eye.
To those of us with the blessing of a mind that works faster than our vocal chords, maintaining eye contact is an uphill task. It is something we have to remind ourselves in every conversation. When my mind is working overtime to construct sentenses and guage which words will be troublesome, eye contact is the last thing I care about.
You may think that we are just being sly, or too shy for this world but that is far from it. What should you then do? Just maintain eye contact. Look us in the eye, the few times we will pass a glance at you, it is just to confirm that you are still listening. Be patient, maintain eye contact and respond when we are done.
If you are in authority, then you have to cultivate an easy atmosphere for a stammerer. We tend to stammer more around authority figures. So, relax and look us in the eye.
In our struggle to put across the message, the quality of speech is not as important as passing the message. We will never convey a message exactly how we would love to, even if we practice over and over. It is good to wait and ask for clarification than interjecting. It is one thing we have to practice over and over especially when we go for an interview, to look people in the eye even who the mind is running around looking for words.
Sharing stories,changing perceptions..........
27th September 2011
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