Three mumbai-based performers share tips to overcome stammering

Aristotle had it So did Elvis Presley and James Earl Jones Recently Grammy Awardwinner Ed Sheeran revealed his struggles with speech impediment on The Howard Stern Show Triggered by a traumatic medical procedure in his childhood the singer acquired a stutter which affected his confidence It was rapper Eminemrsquos The Marshall Mathers LP that helped Sheeran cope ldquoBy learning that record and rapping it back to back it cleared my stutterrdquo he shared with SternWhile it may be caused by many reasons mdash from genetic to psychological mdash stuttering is more common than people think But in a highly communicative social world this can cause some challenges We spoke to an opera singer a standup comic and a composer who found a way past it to build a career in the spotlightLearn ways to control itWhile it manifested in my childhood I was stammering well into my early 20s Interestingly I never stammered when I sang Now I have learned that no one stammers while singing I would often stutter at the beginning of a consonant or a vowel This caused me trouble with introducing myself and I would dread my first day of school So I was extremely quiet in my formative years and that has become a part of my personality for which I am grateful I grew up with a lot of love in my family My parents got me to go to speech therapy I remember doing breathing exercises for a couple of years It was quite instrumental In some ways I owe my singing to my stammering With my professional training I now know what I need to do when I am anxious I can control it Although it is not easy I practise twice as hard by breaking my lines down to each vowel and consonant and working on breathing patterns in conjunction with the same I think the world has changed for the better today A lot of these issues that were problems earlier are now normalised and that is how it should beAmar Mucchala 44 opera tenorStandup was therapeuticAlthough my parents were really patient and took me to speech therapy nothing really worked out then Growing up with a stammer I was also bullied a lot I suffered a massive lack of selfconfidence I was also unsure if I should pursue stand up as a career Watching Drew Lynch mdash a comedian with a stammer mdash on Americarsquos Got Talent gave me confidence I began to write jokes only about stammering to address the situation Thankfully it went well It was therapeutic in a sense I would change the words to help myself speak fluently For instance if I have a problem with words starting with G I would phrase it differently Facing your fears is important Doing standup regularly and interacting with strangers on stage has helped me I realise that some people will make fun of me but I canrsquot let that bring me down Thankfully I found supportive people to back me Learn to accept it People have to learn that everyone has some impediment You learn to live with it like you live with a scar that healsRueben Kaduskar 35 standup comedianArtistes are more understandingWe need to understand that stammering is not a problem We have to be open to the fact that everyone has their own quirks I was bullied in school but you canrsquot blame the kids They only know what they see in front of them As I grew up I slowly started to realise that I am more than this You have to find your people I got through it mostly because I have incredible support from home from my parents and my friends Once I started composing I met musicians and artistes who do not consider this to be a big deal They wait for me to finish Look at it this way I get to sing and make music for a career so I guess you canrsquot have everything I donrsquot stammer when I sing When I keep a beat while talking I do not stammer As long as you donrsquot say anything back to interrupt my flow At some point you need to stand up and take charge of your own life I am fully aware that I have had a lot of privilege in being able to do what I want to do but I will say that it wasnrsquot and still isnrsquot easy on some days It largely boils down to accepting yourself as human beings like anyone else Only then can we take a step for ourselves to do something about our speech if we need or want toAditya N 31 composer and musician537of all children suffer from some speech impediment according to a 2022 research by The Stuttering FoundationStars with a stutterHugh Grant Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroegtgt Winston Churchillgtgt Ozzy Osbourne