(6th article under Real Tough Kids)

Dear children, have you ever seen those old Gramophone records? When they were around, and we played with them as children, we liked putting our fingers at the edge of the revolving record. It used to slow the record a little bit and that used to change Asha Bhonsle's voice to that of Manna Dey! In other words, if you 'slow down' anything, its character changes- sometime totally. Try out an experiment: First sing “Itni shakti hame dena data, man ka vishwas kamjor ho na”. Next sing that famous fast song from Anant Mahadevan called “Breathless”. Now take the words of first and sing it to the tune of the second. It is difficult but try. Then, sing the words of “Breathless” to “Itni Shakti hame dena..”. What do you notice? The meaning, the song and the mood it creates totally change, even though the words are same.

I know, you will say, it is easy to say- slow down- but very difficult to do so. One reason is, people giving us this advise dont really understand why we tend to speak fast. We ourselves dont understand that! Many people think that it is just a bad habit. But the reason is- we have not accepted the fact that we stammer. We are frightened of it and therefore wish to run away from it- by saying quickly whatever has to be said or by just avoiding it. If we first accept the fact that out of ten words we say, we are quite likely to stammer at two- half the battle is won. Then, it would be possible to stammer slowly. And the miracle- stammer itself will change into normal speech as you learn to speak slow.

Do another experiment: take a video camera (or cell phone with video function) and record your normal stammer on some word (Chchchandigarh). Now record it again- but this time greatly slow yourself down as you stammer on the same word (Ch – ch - chandigarh). You may have to do it a few times to slow yourself almost 2-3 times of the time taken first time. Now, ask a friend to see both recordings and ask him to decide which is stammering and which is not. We are sure he will have difficulty labeling your second recording as “stammering”.

This kind of slow dis-fluency is actually part of the normal speech. In fact when you slow down, you will find it very difficult to stammer. You will also notice- your speech will sound more beautiful and understandable, as you slow down considerably. No, you dont have to speak this slow all the time and for ever. As you get used to it, you will discover that you are able to speed up and slow down at will according to the context.

Case Study: Muqarram is very fond of doing everything fast fast! He eats fast, thinks fast, walks fast, reads fast, studies fast- and, yes, talks fast. People keep on asking him to repeat what he just said. It is quite bothersome for everyone. But what can he do. He has tried hard but has not been able to change the way he talks. Sometime this racing through things has cost him dearly. Last time in class 8 exams, he as usual finished first but after coming out of the hall, he discovered that in addition to five questions he was supposed to have done one more from the optional section. He had not read the instruction carefully. But he was a good student, so everyone was always borrowing his notes.

One day a new student joined his class- Atul. He was the son of the new Hindi teacher Mrs Sharma. They became good friends. Atul wore glasses and was often teased about it. But Muqarram always stood for him. What Muqarram liked about Atul was, that he spoke very slowly- as if he were weighing each and every word. Not even the Maths teacher could force him to speak fast.

One day, in Hindi class, Mrs Sharma asked Muqarram the three novels written by Prem Chand. He answered something like this:

ggodannirmalagggaban

She asked him to repeat the answer.

ggodannirmalagggaban

Again.

ggodan nirmala gggaban

godan nirmala gaban

godan nirmala gaban

He repeated quite a few times and finally he sounded like this and madam smiled encouragingly:

Godan Nirmala and Gaban

As everyone was leaving the class, she asked him to see her in the staff room. She was alone there. After he sat down, she said: You speak fine but I cant understand, because I am growing old. Will you mind if I ask you to speak slowly in my class- as I did today? Will you mind that?

Muqarram was happy that somebody was taking such interest in him. Why would he mind? Then onwards, Mrs Sharma would always ask Muqarram a question or ask him to read a paragraph in her Hindi class - and will make him say it slowly. Couple of times when he stammered badly on a word, she firmly asked the class to keep quiet and remain serious.

After a few months she called him again to staff room.
You start slow and nice- and then suddenly you speed up- why?
After some discussion, Muqarram said sheepishly: I speed up because I think, I am going to stammer on a word and that you will be angry..
Mrs Sharma smiled: Why would I be angry? I too stammered when I was a child. Even now, when I am very angry, I stumble over words. So what is the problem? Stammer as much as you want in my class. Stammering is no problem. But when you speak fast- I just cant understand what you say.

As he was leaving, she stopped him: One more thing. Is it okay if I asked Atul to do my work with you, outside the class? To remind you to slow down when you talk?
Muqarram nodded 'yes' and ran off.

Soon, they developed a code: whenever Atul took a deep breath, it would be a signal for Muqarram to slow down his speech immediately. Few weeks later, he did not need even that hint. He would just see that strange look on Atul's face and slow down at once. He also learned how to take a breath in, stop for a second and then start speaking slowly. Also, to stop at all the punctuation marks in a sentence.

In the meantime, he met with an accident. He was riding his cycle to school. His cycle skidded and he fell. As he fell he stretched out his hand. There was a fracture in his hand. For six weeks, he had to take rest. Atul visited him at home and brought him books to read. While in third week, he could not control himself and decided to visit the school, with his arm in plaster. Mrs Sharma made him sit in a chair and asked him to close his eyes and recall the events of his accident. Muqarram had never thought about that bad morning ever since.

Who do you blame for the accident? The dog? Your cycle? Slippery road?
He of course had always blamed the stray dog for the accident. Mrs Sharma asked him to close eyes and think back again. Yes, there had been rain and there was this stray dog who suddenly decided to cross the road.. and he had started a little late from the home. But what if he had arrived a little late in the school? Not a big deal. But was he driving fast just because he wanted to reach the school on time? Or was it because he just liked riding his cycle fast always?

He had never realized that he did have options: he could have started earlier. He could have reached the school a little late and taken the punishment. He could have arrived after recess, with a written excuse from his parents. He could have slowed down just at the slippery patch. He could have skipped the school that day. Every option could have its own outcomes- but this plaster for six weeks was a little bit too painful an outcome than all those put together.

He realized that day that he was free to choose – how he spoke, how he studied, how he played- everything. He has become more careful now in everything he does. In exams, he reads the instructions carefully twice- and only then, picks up his pen. Many months have passed since that incident. He has given up his old friends, old games. He is now very friendly with Atul. He has also started speaking like Atul now- slowly and deliberately. Recently when he found a Gandhi ji's quote, he was very happy. He wrote it with calligraphy on a big chart paper and presented it to Mrs Sharma, her old teacher:

“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

Practical Ideas: Slowing yourself down is a tough assignment. Here are some helpful ideas.

1. Meditation is known to slow your thought processes. You become more aware of your thoughts and do not do things on impulse.

2. If you have friends who speak slow, your task becomes easier.

3. Breathing in and out couple of times in a relaxed way, before you begin talking has been found helpful. Keep the eye contact and smile during this pause. Even between sentences, stop and take a breath and then carry on.

4. Singing helps by training your nervous system and your speech box to relax, breath and phonate. Learn slow and melodious songs. Use a tape recorder and listen to your own singing frequently, to improve pitch, tone and timing.

5. Play with your stammering by recording it at various speeds. This is how you convince your sub-conscious mind that by slowing down you change the basic character of your stammer so much, that it no more remains a 'stammer'.