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Noticing a problem with my speech...

  • 01-12-2012 6:02pm
    #1
    LegacyUser
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭


    I'm 21 years old and over the last twelve months or so I think I've developed some type of speech problem...

    Basically, I'm always getting tongue-tied. It's the same whether I'm one-on-one with someone I'm comfortable with or with a group of people I'm not comfortable with - either way I always slip up, mispronounce stupid words I 100% know how to say, stumble through sentences. Sometimes I'll get to the end of a sentence and I'll be so embarrassed cause I know I said it so, so badly and wonder if the person even knew what I was getting at. To try and help I try to say the sentence to myself in my head first, but to do that all the time is draining.

    It's got to the point where I hardly stop thinking about it. I don't speak up in class anymore (we're also getting marked on our participation so it's affecting my results) because I'm afraid the teacher will ask me to elaborate on something and my tongue won't be able to keep up with what my brain wants to say and I'll just, again, end up embarrassing myself. At parties with friends I'll think of a funny story that I want to tell, and I know they'll all laugh, but because its a story and I can't really mentally practice it I'm afraid to start and a lot of the time just end up letting the moment pass and have someone else do the talking.

    I haven't talk about it with anyone because I'm honestly really embarrassed about it.

    I have anxiety to some extent also and I'd say it's gotten a bit worse over the last couple years because of college and work stress, but I mean... It's definitely not bad enough to explain something like this.

    Just realised I don't really know what I want to get out of this post haha, but it definitely feels good to have that off my chest anyway.


Comments

  • #2
    looksee
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,095 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    Has anyone (family or close friend) commented on it? If they haven't then it is probably not nearly as bad as you think it is. And the more you think about it the worse it will get. Its a kind of self-fulfilling thing.

    If it is really bothering you you need to break the cycle. Your GP may be able to help with the anxiety, or you could go to something like Toastmasters where you can learn to speak in public with a very sympathetic audience.

    If you could allow yourself to speak on 'auto-pilot' though, speak without thinking too much about what you are saying, in conversations with friends and family, you will probably find you are really quite fluent.


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