Last night the Dallas Chapter of the National Stuttering Association held it’s monthly meeting and here’s your recap.

This month were 15 people, which included an SLP student, three new people (welcome to our group!) and the return of many familiar faces.

First we talked about our Memorial Day weekends. We heard about family reunions, graduations, road trips, and a very impressive amount of international travel. Our group definitely knows how to enjoy a long weekend!

Then we talked a little about that thing that is just around the corner… We are just 4 weeks away from the Annual Conference of the NSA, the biggest gathering of people who stutter in the world! Our annual conference is four days of workshops, inspiring conversations, camaraderie, cocktails by the beach, speeches, and so much more. If you have been to one you know there’s really nothing like it… and if you haven’t been, what are you waiting for? July 3-7th, Fort Lauderdale is your chance. Read all the details and register at https://westutter.org/conference/
 
Our main theme of the night was “The Safest Place”, and it was inspired by a couple lines in the official welcoming words of the NSA:“For the time we meet here, this room is a very special place.

It is a place where we can practice whatever speaking and communicating techniques with which we may feel comfortable.”


The purpose was to share stories and to talk about what techniques do we use to get ready for speaking situations.

One of our first timers started the conversation sharing with us how he practices in front of his wife before presentations. He said that the more confident about his knowledge he feels, the better his speech is, and also how the use of visual aids and slides is very useful to get your points across.

Several people in the room talked about Toastmasters, the public speaking organization, and how the lessons learned there have impacted their lives outside of the club. Things like learning to use pauses to your advantage, the importance of body language in communication, and developing confidence through practice were important takeaways.

At the end of the night a good time was had by all, and as usual we ended up talking a photo of our amazing group:
Cheers!
See you next month!

Dallas NSA