Jeff had always felt the need to hide his stutter, but his speech therapy course at City Lit helped him to become comfortable with his speech and gave him essential job interview confidence…

Name: Jeff Hammill
Institution: City Lit
Course: Block Modification

When the credit crunch hit, the investment company I was working for made me redundant. This finally gave me the opportunity to attend a speech therapy course. Prior to taking the course, I had focused all of my attention when speaking on trying not to stammer. It was explained to us during the first day that we should stammer openly. At first this was quite challenging but once I got the hang of not trying to conceal my stammer (it never worked anyway), it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was no longer focusing on what word I was going to stammer on, but instead on what I was going to say.

Since taking the Block Modification course, I have found myself being more open about stammering. Recently I was interviewing for a new job, which can typically be a very stressful experience, especially if you stammer. Having recently completed the course, I found myself announcing to the interviewer that I stammer and that I might need a little extra time answering their questions. Previously I would not have dreamt of announcing that I had a stammer in a job interview for fear that I would eliminate myself right at the start. The responses I received were very positive about being upfront about my stammer and I received a job offer from a large investment bank.  

My advice to others who are thinking of returning to learning, for whatever reason, is to take action and don’t put it off. Once I had started working on my speech, I wished I had started sooner.