| I'm a former stutterer that knows first hand just | | | | conducting these interviews, he met someone |
| how difficult and frustrating having a stuttering | | | | that told him that he did not stutter while |
| problem can be. Many people don't understand | | | | smoking. Schwartz asked him to demonstrate, |
| just how hard learning how to stop stuttering can | | | | and so the man lit up a cigarette and exhaled |
| really be. They think anybody can simply get over | | | | some smoke and began to speak. |
| this speech impairment with just the right | | | | At first, he simply dismissed it as a psychological |
| strength of character. Because of this, they label | | | | distraction. Later it soon hit him though, that the |
| us as weak and nervous wrecks and tend to look | | | | answer was actually in the flow of the exhale. |
| down on us. However, I know that this is not the | | | | So in short, this is how the "Passive Air Flow |
| case! Although, learning how to stop stuttering is | | | | Technique" works. |
| by all means not an easy task. It is in fact | | | | 1. Before you begin to speak, briefly exhale. |
| possible, and so I have written this article to | | | | 2. Halfway through your exhale, say the first |
| teach you about the passive air flow technique | | | | word of the sentence that you want to speak. |
| developed by Dr. Martin Schwartz. | | | | You can then continue on to finish your sentence |
| Dr. Schwartz discovered this technique by | | | | because as you exhale, you are relaxing your |
| interviewing several people who were able to | | | | larynx and Valsalva mechanism. |
| overcome their stuttering problem. While | | | | |