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According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by the repetition of sounds, syllables, or words; prolongation of sounds; and interruptions in speech known as blocks.

Stuttering is an issue for many people around the world and can severely disrupt a speaker’s confidence and overall delivery of a speech. If you feel like stuttering has gotten in the way of past speaking engagements, there are ways that you can work on overcoming stuttering while public speaking.

From working with a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to simply slowing your speech down, here are some tips on how to overcome stuttering while public speaking:

Slow Down

One of the best ways to combat a stutter is to simply slow down while you’re talking. If you find yourself rushing to complete a thought too quickly, you’ll start to increase the speed in which you are talking, may have trouble getting out your words, and overall, may start to stutter.

Take a few moments before you start your speech to relax your mind and body. This way, when you start giving your speech, you won’t be rushing to get your words out and it will be easier for you to slow down your speaking pace.

Reduce Your Stress and Anxiety

While stress and anxiety aren’t the main cause of stuttering, they can make stuttering worse. Find a routine that will work on lessening your stress and anxiety before public speaking.

There are various techniques that you can use such as deep breathing, thinking of positive affirmations, and transforming negativity into enthusiasm. If you can, arrive at your venue early and rehearse your speech one last time. Overall, find a system that works for you and know that you’re going to give a great speech.

Work With a Speech-Language Pathologist

If you feel like you’ve tried everything under the sun, but can’t seem to overcome your stuttering, you may want to consider working with a speech-language pathologist (SLP). First, an SLP will help to find the source of your stuttering (developmental stuttering, neurogenic stuttering, or psychogenic stuttering). Then, they’ll recommend activities and exercises that will assist you in overcoming stuttering while public speaking. A speech-language pathologist will be there every step of the way to help you rid or lessen your stuttering as much as they can.

For help with your next speech, consider working with a Chicago speech coach. Executive speech coaching can help you prepare for that next big job interview, an upcoming presentation, or your overall communication skills as a rising leader. Contact us today to get started!

Making sure that your child reaches important speech and language milestones is vital to their overall speech and language development. From birth to five months your child should be cooing and making noises when talked to, from six to eleven months your child should be saying “ma-ma” or “da-da” without meaning, from twelve to seventeen months your child should be able to answer simple questions non-verbally, and so on and so forth. Luckily, there are many ways that you can help your child if they seem to be falling behind in their speech and language development. 

That said, here are some ways you can help improve your child’s speech and language development:

Talk to Your Child as Much as Possible

Talk, talk again, and then, talk some more. One great way to help improve your child’s language development is to narrate the day. Talk to your child about what’s happening around them such as, “doesn’t the warm sun feel nice on your face?”, and “let’s go walk to the park. There, we can go on the swings and play!”.

When children hear lots of different words and phrases, it helps them to obtain a better understanding of language in general and can help expand their vocabulary.

Teach Your Child to Ask For Things

A lot of times, younger children tend to point to what they want instead of verbally asking for something. Don’t let your child develop this habit early on! Alternately, when your child wants something, teach them to ask out loud.

For younger kiddos, a simple “please” should do the trick, while children who are a little older should be asking for the specific name of the object, followed by a “please”, such as, “milk, please.”

Avoid Criticizing Your Child’s Speech

When children first start learning to talk, they tend to say words and phrases a little differently than an adult might. One common example would be that they sometimes use a ‘W’ in place of an ‘R’, like “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”. Rather than you immediately saying, “no, that’s not right”, repeat the word or phrase back to your kiddo with the correct pronunciation or usage. 

Sing Songs Together

Singing songs is an excellent way to promote your child’s language development and is just plain fun. Songs help to encourage speech because of all of the rhyming words and rhythm in them.

If you’re unsure of where to begin, start with common children’s songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider or Old MacDonald. Not only do these songs have plenty of rhyming words in them, but they also come with performing amusing gestures! Singing songs together will help improve your child’s speech and language development, and will also allow you and your child to bond.

Many of us use hand gestures in our everyday lives without much thought, but did you know that using hand gestures during a speech can be extremely beneficial? There are numerous advantages that come with using gestures while speaking that’ll make you want to incorporate them into your next speech. 

That being said, here are the benefits of using hand gestures while giving a speech:

Hand Gestures Can Help You Remember Your Speech

Believe it or not, you probably used gestures to help you remember things such as songs and rhymes as a child (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, etc). Luckily, this technique can be used even as an adult! Studies show that hand gestures facilitate memory processes for both materials that are already understood, as well as for newly learned material. While you’re practicing a speech, you should be working on remembering the words you want to say as well as the movements you’ll perform while saying them.

Hand Gestures Can Make You Feel More Comfortable

Many of us use various hand gestures during everyday conversations without even realizing it. That’s because hand gestures are a natural part of human interaction and make you more comfortable in communicating with others. A study performed by UCLA Psychology Professor Albert Mehrabian found that communication is only 7% verbal and the other is 93% non-verbal. Though those numbers may be surprising to you, think about it like this -  you rarely ever have to think about what to do with your hands during an interaction with another human being because your body naturally expresses your thoughts through gestures.

Hand Gestures Can Help Grab Your Audience’s Attention

One of the hardest parts of giving a speech is keeping your audience’s attention - hand gestures and movement can help you with this. A study conducted by Science of People that looked into what makes a TED Talk popular or not found that the least popular TED Talkers only used 272 hand gestures on average during their 18-minute long speech while the most popular TED Talkers used almost double the number of gestures at 465 in the same amount of time. It just goes to show you how using hand gestures can really captivate an audience. Just imagine how dull a speech would be if you just sat there the whole time with no movement!

For help with your next speech, consider working with a Chicago speech coach. Executive speech coaching can help you prepare for that next big job interview, an upcoming presentation, or your overall communication skills as a rising leader. Contact us today to get started!

Wordplay activities are an excellent way to interact with your child while helping them improve their language skills. Not only do they allow you to spend time with one another, but wordplay activities can be a really great tool in helping your child learn how to read. There are numerous ways you can incorporate wordplay into your child’s everyday life that’s engaging and just plain fun!

That being said, here are three wordplay activities that can help your child learn to read:

Rhyming Bingo

The popular nursery rhyme, “Hickory Dickory Dock”, does more than tell your children about a mouse running up a clock - it’s actually improving your child’s reading skills. Studies have found that children who are good at rhyming tend to become good at reading as well. 

One great rhyming game you can play with your child is rhyming bingo. You’ll need a sheet of paper with a three by four grid (12 spaces in total) with each space containing a photo of an object that is easily recognized by your children (a cat, a tree, or the sun for example). To play, you’ll name one of the objects that are located on the bingo sheet, such as a cat. Your child will have to come up with a word that rhymes with the called out word in order to cover up that space - in this instance, maybe they’d say, “hat”. You’ll then keep naming the other objects on their bingo sheet for them to rhyme until they cover up enough spaces for bingo!

Cup Letter Stomp

Cup letter stomp is the perfect activity to work on letter sounds with your child. All you’ll need for this activity are some styrofoam cups and a permanent marker. Write a letter on the bottom of each cup and place the cups on the floor with the letter-side up. Your child will call out a letter they want to stomp and make the corresponding letter sound. If they are correct, invite your child to stomp that cup! Continue until all the letters have been called out and all of the cups have been stomped on. If you’re worried about wasting cups, you can always use them in future art projects!

Outdoor Word Match

Now that the weather is starting to warm up you can bring wordplay to the outdoors! This activity is a whole lot of fun, very easy to set up, and will get your children moving. For your outdoor word match, all you’ll need is a marker and some index cards. On each card, write down the word of an object your child will find outside such as a tree, ball, or flower. Next, give your child one index card at a time and allow them to sound out and read the word. They’ll then have to run to the object written on the card and place the card next to that object. Not only will this activity help your child learn to sound out and read words, but it’ll also allow them to be active and to enjoy the outdoors!

Public speaking is a fear that we all must face at some point, especially if we want to be successful professionals. So rather than running from this reality, it only makes sense to prepare. Here are some of the best public speaking books that we’ve found. Each of these books offers guidance, encouragement, empathy, and instruction to help make your next speech more successful than the last.

Steal the Show by Michael Port – This best seller is a great choice for anyone who’s looking to add a dash of inspiration to their presentations. The author takes the perspective that every interaction is a performance to some degree, and offers practical tips for making everyday interactions and big speeches more engaging.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln by James C. Humes – Mr. Humes wrote speeches for five American presidents. Using his skills as a speaker and a historian, Humes brings together the speaking advice from history’s best speakers in this handy collection.

Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun – This humorous and helpful book shares insight from the author’s career as a public speaker, highlighting all the things he’s done best, and times when everything went wrong. 

The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie – This classic belongs on any public speaker’s shelf. While it’s not exactly hot off the presses, the advice found here is timeless.

TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson – When most people look for great examples of speeches online, the first place they look is TED Talks.This book takes a look at what TED speakers do to captivate their audiences and deliver sometimes familiar information in riveting ways. 

Long Story Short by Margot Leitman – Written by the founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade, this helpful resource can help those of us who don’t regularly give formal presentations or speeches a boost in our everyday conversations. We all tell stories by nature, and this book helps us tell those stories in a more compelling way.

Of course, if you’re looking for a more hands-on approach to becoming a better speaker, a Chicago speech coach might be the right choice for you. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and get the help you need to nail your next big speech.

The New York Times recently profiled a new research study that examined the effect of screen time on child brain development in three to five-year-olds.They found that too much time on screens correlates with weaker neural connections in the brain. Put simply, when tracts connecting different areas of the brain are used regularly, they become stronger. Children who watch screens less were found to have stronger connections in their brains, particularly in areas of the brain that involve language and literacy skills.

Interestingly enough, the results of the study aren’t as simple as “more screen time is bad, less is good.” In order to determine viewing habits, the researchers asked the children’s parents questions about their preschooler - what age did their child strat watching screens, whether they watch any violent content, whether the parents watch with their child, and whether the child has screens in their bedroom. All of these factors were then combined to create a “ScreenQ” score from 0-26. Those scores were used along with comprehensive brain scans to conduct this particular technology and brain development survey.

Plenty of children’s programming is incredibly educational and helpful (for both children and parents), and learning how to work with technology is an important life skill that preschoolers should begin to develop.The big concerns with screen time is the quality of the content and the amount of time spent watching. Try to make sure that childen are actively using their screens (playing games or watching videos that encourage learning a skill or encourage being creative) rather than passively using their screens (watching uneducational videos or playing games that don’t require thinking) a majority of their screen time.

Here are a few simple guidelines to keep in mind when setting reasonable screen time limits with your child:

• Try to avoid screens before the age of 18 months. Any content watched on screens before 18 months should be strictly educational, age-appropriate, and limited as much as possible.
• Don’t let your kids watch violent shows – it’s just not a good idea. Many shows targeted at children ages 5-10 focus on crime-fighting and superheroes. Hold off on such shows for as long as you can.
• When your child watches a show, watch with them (if you can). It’s important to know what your kids are consuming and you can help make the show more interactive by asking questions.
• If you let your child play with your phone or a tablet, set strict time limits, and restrict their use to educational, age-appropriate apps.

As always, if you have any concerns about your child’s speech development, please feel free to contact us to schedule a free consultation.

There are few tougher public speaking challenges than attempting to write and give an inspiring speech. But in reality, inspiring speeches are far from impossible. To be truly inspiring, here are a few things that your speech must be:

Honest

You have to speak from a place of personal truth. Clichés are not going to get the job done, because we’ve all heard them thousands of times. Clichés can be useful for identifying the core theme or idea you want to express, but you need to then take that cliché idea and bring it to life in a way that only you can.

Attention-grabbing

It is very difficult to give an inspiring speech without grabbing the audience right away. A slow preamble or a long story that takes forever to get to the point will cause you to lose your audience’s attention, and once you’ve lost them, it doesn’t matter how inspiring your big finale is – they won’t be paying attention.

To the point

This goes along with the previous point. You not only need to start strong, but you need to stay strong. That means cutting out anything extraneous and not attempting to fill time. Your speech doesn’t necessarily have to be short, but to be inspiring, brevity always helps.

Relevant

You can’t inspire a room of dog lovers with your love of cats. Well, you can, but it’s hard, and requires going in with the knowledge that the audience will need serious persuading. 

Knowing your audience is essential to delivering an inspiring speech, because you’re not there to inspire yourself – you’re there to inspire the audience. That said, don’t go changing your beliefs. Instead, find a way to be respectful and a bridge builder.

Instructive

Don’t just tell your audience how you achieved something great – tell them how they can achieve something great, too. Your job is to present solutions and to encourage the audience to pursue those solutions alongside you. If you can end with a call to action, hopefully that will be your truly inspiring moment.

When it comes to speech therapy for children, knowing when to make the call for a consultation can be a tough choice, because no two children are exactly alike. Yes, there are milestones that you can track, but if your child is behind in one or two categories, does that really mean anything?

Our best advice is that if you have a concern, you shouldn’t hesitate to contact a Chicago SLP (speech language pathologist) and make an appointment. Consultations are free, and they can offer great peace of mind. If there is a speech or language concern that needs addressing, acting sooner than later is always beneficial.

Here are a few signs that you can look for beyond the standard milestones to help decide whether it’s time to talk to an SLP in Chicago:

Behavioral Issues

This is a big one. When children have a hard time being understood or expressing themselves, that frustration can come out in the form of tantrums and aggression. Of course, every child has tantrums – they’re a natural part of growing up – but if your child is regularly upset or violent, it could be because they’re having trouble expressing themselves in other, healthier ways.

Lack of Social Interaction

Sometimes speech and language problems don’t manifest in behavioral issues but rather in a lack of social engagement. If your baby or child is regularly withdrawn, doesn’t smile or laugh, or refuses to play with other kids (after the age of two), those may be signs of developmental issues.

Difficulty Understanding Your Child

Parents are usually able to understand their toddlers better than anyone else. You know that “instruction miracle” actually means “construction vehicle.” That’s perfectly normal. But if your child has reached the age of three and you and other close family members can’t understand what she’s trying to say on a regular basis, that’s a strong indicator that you should reach out to an SLP.

Advice from Your Pediatrician

One of the best ways to identify speech and language issues early is to be diligent about bringing your child in for their well-baby and well-child appointments. At regularly scheduled checkups, your child’s doctor checks on healthy growth and development. Your doctor will likely be able to tell you if your child would benefit from a speech consultation.

Even the best public speakers sometimes get nervous before a big speech. It’s only human to feel a bit anxious before an important presentation, a big meeting, or a meaningful talk. If you know you’re prone to public speaking nerves, here are a few simple tips that can help calm you down and ensure that you give the best speech you can.

1. Hold a small object in your hands

A very common problem for public speakers is forgetting what they’re supposed to do with their hands. These limbs that felt so natural a second ago are suddenly awkward and in the way. To avoid fidgeting, crossing your arms, or trying to conceal shaky or sweaty hands, give your hands something to do. 

One option is holding something like a paperclip or an eraser in one of your hands and focusing all of your nervous energy into the object. Another option is to hold a pen or a pair of glasses – assuming you don’t need to wear them for your speech. This gives your hands something natural to do and gives you an object that you can underscore points with.

2. Change how you think about your nerves

One of the simplest ways to minimize nerves before a big speech is to reframe the way you think about them. Yes, you may be nervous, but tell yourself that you’re excited. Repeat to yourself that you’re energized, not anxious, and your body will start to believe you. 

In fact, several studies have been done that show that people who say something encouraging to themselves before a performance do better than people who tell themselves something negative. You have a lot more control over your mindset than you may realize – you just need to give yourself that positive boost to turn your nerves into excitement.

3. Remember why you’re speaking

In the vast majority of cases, you’re not giving a speech to stroke your own ego. There’s a job you want, a person you want to honor, a product you want to tell the world about, or a message you want to get across. When you feel a bit nervous, try to think about the “why” of your speech and remember that it’s not actually about you, it’s about what you want to say. Thinking in those terms can help take the pressure off and help you refocus your nervous energy into something positive.

When you have a child, there are about a million different milestones you’re told to keep track of. Some are important, like when your child begins to crawl, and others are much less important, like when your child hiccups for the first time. All of the firsts are fun to watch, but language development milestones can be useful to keep an eye on. If your child falls behind with their speech development, there are often things that you can do to help them get on track. 

Here are some of the most important speech milestones and the basic time frame for when you can expect your child to reach them. Not everyone falls within the expected dates, and being a bit behind isn’t anything to worry about. But if you notice that your child is significantly behind her peers in terms of her language development, that’s something worth bringing to the attention of your doctor or a speech language pathologist (SLP).

• Birth to 3 months: At this age, your baby should react to loud sounds. They should begin to recognize your voice, and it should help calm them down if they’re crying. They should begin making cooing sounds and using different cries to express different needs. Around six weeks, your child should begin smiling.
• 4 to 6 months: During this period, your baby should begin responding to changes in the tone of your voice. They should begin babbling, making sounds that usually begin with P, B, or M sounds, and start laughing.
• 7 to 12 months: During this exciting time, your baby is likely to begin using one or two words, like “hi” or “mama.” They’ll begin responding to requests, like “Come here, and should also begin understanding words you use commonly such as “bottle” or “diaper.”
• 1 to 2 years: Your baby should enjoy listening to stories, songs and rhymes at this age. They should regularly acquire new words, and should begin learning the parts of their body – e.g. “Where’s your belly?” Many children begin putting together two words to make statements at this age, such as “more milk.”
• 2 to 3 years: Your toddler should be able to say two or three word phrases that are understandable to family members, and should have a word for almost everything they interact with.
• 3 to 4 years: Your child should begin speaking in sentences and should be able to tell you about things they did that day. They also should be able to hear you call from another room and answer simple questions.
• 4 to 5 years: Your child should be able to communicate with other children and adults at this age. They should be able to tell stories and, for the most part, follow the rules of grammar. 

Again, these are baselines for expected development, but every child is different. If you have some concerns about your child’s language development, please don’t hesitate to contact a Chicago SLP. Early intervention is the best way to help your child develop the language skills she’ll use for the rest of her life. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with an SLP in Chicago.