If you stutter, you more than anyone else understand how it can impact your life and your interactions with others.

However, there are some exercises you can attempt to help reduce your stuttering. 

Break the Tension 

Any type of speech impediment, such as stuttering, causes tension throughout your entire body.

Tension in the body worsens speech impediments, which creates a never-ending cycle. 

The fact is, if you’re tense, you must break that tension. Having that tension clearly indicates that you’re entering “stuttering mode.” 

It’s fine to be anxious or even excited when it comes to speaking, but you don’t want to be impacted by this extreme feeling of tension. You need to break it physically.

A few ways to break this tension include:

  • Imagine you’re trying to move a hard object that requires a lot of effort. This pushing and releasing will help ease up the tension.
  • Add physical movement(s) to your speaking by employing the use of your hands.

Breathing and Voice

This is similar to tension. Your stuttering can cause your voice to be shallow and project from the top of your vocal cords.

Additionally, your breathing can get interrupted due to repetitions and blocks. This results in speech impediments worsening and (again) creating a never-ending vicious cycle.

You can help this problem by singing and reading out loud using the lower portion of your chest.

It’s also smart to practice belly breathing. Try feeling your belly with your hand to know exactly where your breath is coming from.

Articulation 

Two things to keep in mind when it comes to speech articulation: 

1 – You must prepare your speaking mechanism (i.e. mouth muscles) to speak. It may look and feel weird, but try manipulating your mouth so that you feel comfortable.

2 – While you’re speaking, you may not be opening your mouth wide enough because of the tension. Using articulation exercises prior to speaking will help release that tension buildup. 

Relaxation

You can use several methods to relax before you speak. However, you really need to learn how to combine relaxation with speaking.

You can relax your muscles by putting tension on them and then relaxing. Try saying a few words or sentences while you attempting this.

By doing this, you can begin to relax your body, minimize tension, and reduce the likelihood of stuttering. 

Exercises That Work

When it comes to stuttering, there are more than a few exercises you can try.

Make sure to keep the ones mentioned above in mind, which will help you with any stuttering issues you have.

You can also reach out to speech professionals for additional tips and one-on-one assistance.