Stuttering Success Story: Topazia's Story

Before the Pro90D program, Topazia struggled in two areas with her speech. The first was speaking on the phone with strangers. She found this unusual since the person on the other end of the line didn’t know who she was, but she would panic anyway, thinking, “What if I get stuck?” The second problem area was when she had to talk to senior management in her organization.

She put pressure on herself to give the perfect response or to say the right thing in the right way. The pressure would build up, and she would fumble a lot. She came across as someone who lacked confidence. It made her feel bad, which further lowered her confidence.

With the Pro90D smooth speech training courses, she first did the self-study courses when there was a free option. She found the fluent speaking coach, Michael Williams, through one of his videos, and that’s what led her to the self-study course. Through a link to Pro90D, she eventually received emails from Michael about how to stop stuttering and then downloaded the audios for the self-study option.

She was inconsistent, though, so it wasn’t working. She ended up leaving the program all together. After about another year, she was still facing significant problems with her speech, so she revisited Pro90D, researched the stuttering therapy techniques a bit more, and gave it another chance. She made the small financial investment to restart the self-study program.

Topazia listened to the audios, took notes, and practiced. She was more devoted and invested the second time around. Still, there was no accountability, and her practice was hit or miss. Then, she attended a Pro90D Boot Camp, and she made a small presentation there where Michael gave her feedback. She realized the difference between coaching and the self-study program. The program has all the tools, but she’s not sure which one to use when, and the extra help of coaching ties it all together.

By working with a professional speaking coach, the first advantage Topazia received was accountability. The second was customization. Topazia said that when she spoke to Michael, he was able to point out her problem areas and give her examples of how to say things. This is what helped her improve her speech. She knew all the tips and tricks but didn’t know when to use them.

For example, she thought the air flow technique wasn’t applicable for her because she thought it was a stammering treatment and she doesn’t have choppy speech. Michael showed her how that technique was useful for her, and now it helps her every day. At first, Topazia would get stuck on certain words, speak with a very high pitch, and speak very quickly.

In fact, someone recently heard her speak and told her that she had good communication skills, which is important because she’s in sales. She never imagined that someone would tell her that her strength was her communication skills. That compliment gave her such a confidence boost. A few days after that, her speech kept improving because of this boost of confidence. It gave her momentum.

During breaks from coaching, she’s become her own coach. The first time there was such a big gap between coaching sessions, she was a little skeptical that she would be able to manage without the constant advice and feedback. But, she gave it a try because she had no other choice.

The coaching program was coming to an end anyway, so she needed to challenge herself. She gave up all of her excuses and gave it 100%. She followed her routine, did her affirmations, rewatched Michael’s videos (many of them), relistened to the audios, and made up her mind that she had to model what she was seeing every time she spoke.

If she was presenting information, she was modeling. If it was a general conversation, she was air-flowing. Every morning, she was doing 10-15 minutes of affirmations, and she started to see things change. In the gaps between coaching sessions, she did really well—much better than she thought. She made phone calls and spoke within her work groups.

She speaks confidently with the senior management in her organization. It wasn’t that she completely stopped fumbling, but now she was able to present information in a structured way. Her mind used to go blank, but not anymore. She’s also more forgiving when she makes mistakes.

She constantly remembers to model. Her brain triggers her to do this on a regular basis and in a natural way. She never imagined she would make the improvement she has made in 2 1/2 months. She now feels capable of doing this on her own, and she’ll continue to improve.

Topazia learned that following the routine set by the Pro90D program was crucial. There were times she would skip it in the beginning, and that didn’t work. When she started following the routine religiously, her improvement was consistent. She also thinks you have to stay positive and believe you can do it.

As far as an investment, she believes if you are struggling with speech on a daily basis, it’s a minimal cost compared to the benefits of freedom when you can speak freely. You no longer feel bound by your weakness of not being able to say what you want to say. If it works, you get freedom for the rest of your life. If you don’t invest, you will only lose. If you invest, you might gain something. Even after the one-on-one sessions end, you have the app and the interactive community for continued support.