Public Speaking

Two words that evoke fear in the hearts of the toughest men and women.
Beyond the normal adrenalin rush and nervousness, I have no fear.

I am a certified trainer with the company for which I work; one element of the position includes teaching classes to new managers and presenting any new initiatives that the company may have.

The people in the classes number fifteen to thirty. There is also usually a varied degree of experience in the room. The classes can run for as little as two hours to as long as two days.

I am a stutter and have been for most of my life.

The key to my success is to make other people comfortable with my stuttering.
In my learnings about myself, I’ve found that when I am stutt… stutt… stuttering and trying to deliver a message, the receiver tends to focus on facial ticks and my other struggles trying to get the words out.

The message is lost, and they are usually embarrassed for me, they also empathize and sometimes they laugh.
At times, I look and sound very funny and I laugh too.

Beyond that, I am amazed with my success speaking in public.

You may not believe it, but I was not born a stutter.

When I was about seven years old, there was a boy in the neighborhood (his name escapes me) who was a terrible stutter. I made fun of him at every opportunity. This went on for about two years. Kids being kids.

When we moved away, I could not stop.
There is a God.. I suppose..

I have gone to several different speech therapists over the years and none of them have been able to help.

Over time, I have developed my own techniques to minimize my condition. My family, close friends and work colleagues tend not to notice anymore.

So to all the stutters out there, remember it’s not you, it’s them.

And to all the people who have encountered a stutter, It’s not them, it’s you.

Writer's Block. Sort of

Are you still there?!?



If you are, thank you for keeping the faith.
I started this Blog while I was on holidays, then it was easy to find the time.
However after getting back into the working regime, I found that I was too elsewhere, and too frazzled to effectively put my thoughts into words.

Another reason I went on hiatus was my wife; her writing skills totally intimidate me.
She makes it seem effortless, but for me it is painful.

I had not told anyone that I had started a blog. However, my best friend (whom I wrote about much earlier) read my posts and he was awed by my efforts.
That was enough for me.

I will continue to post as often as possible.

Thanks for your patience everyone.

I'll be posting shortly.

Bush or Kerry

Two subjects I try not to get into arguments about are Religion and Politics. Religion because you cannot win. Wars have been started over Religion. I also do not argue over politics because I firmly believe if you do not like the government and what they stand for then use your vote. Don’t get me wrong, I am very opinionated on both subjects and can articulate my ideas and thoughts as well as the next person.
However, I choose not to be involved in the type of display I witnessed recently.

Saturday last, I went to a party and an argument about Politics erupted. A group of about eight guys were standing around talking, when the subject got on to movies and then onto Michael Moore's “Fahrenheit 9/11”. From there, it went to the upcoming elections in the US.

Interestingly, the topic never made it to US foreign policy as I thought it would, but these guys were actually yelling and screaming about who the better candidate was Bush or Kerry.
The booze, the yelling, the music made it hard for me to follow, so I am not sure who came out the winner. I thought, you have a bunch of Canadian men almost coming to blows over ‘AMERICAN POLITICIANS’
Now how stupid is that? I though it would have been much more interesting had they bothered to explore history of the two parties, and the effects of their individual foreign policies on Canada.
I could have only hoped.
I might have participated.