Lauren attended her first Empowering Voices course a few months ago. She talks about the social anxiety she experienced when meeting a group of new people as a stammerer and how this fear quickly evaporated.
Around three months ago, I went on my first speech course. On my first evening on the course, I was really anxious about meeting a large group of new people. I had spoken to two of the group over the phone but had no idea what everyone else would be like or if I would fit in. I have social anxiety around new people anyway, and the thought of walking into a group of over 20 people terrified me.
That first evening, we met in the hotel lobby to walk together to get dinner at a restaurant. I walked awkwardly out of the lift and stood near a group who were deep in conversation, and then another member came and asked who I was. This turned out to be one of the people I had spoken to before the course! She brought me over to some other members of Empowering Voices, we introduced ourselves and chatted while waiting for everyone to arrive.
Just before we left for dinner, a register was called to make sure everyone was there; this helped me personally, as I had forgotten the name of someone I was talking to! Although the little group I was walking with had known each other for a while, they made me feel so welcome.
We laughed through dinner and told stories about our lives and our jobs. We opened up about our stammering journey and how it affected our day-to-day lives. The food was delicious, the restaurant had been chosen specifically, and the staff were aware that our group was full of people with stammers. The atmosphere was full of laughter and deep conversations throughout the evening.
On the way back to the hotel I decided to walk with some other members of Empowering Voices. Again, I found a group of friendly, supportive people who were interesting and funny. The anxiety I felt going into the first day of the course within half an hour had evaporated entirely.
This great start made the rest of the course a lot easier. I had a conversation with, I believe, every person by the end of the three-day course. Of all the 27 people who attended the course in October, I was met with nothing but support, humour and kindness. It's a truly special thing to be completely comfortable being open and vulnerable with a group of strangers.
We cried and laughed together, and I'm happy to say these Empowering Voices members are no longer strangers. It is a group that I rely on regularly and can be my true self around. So, if you're anxious about joining a speech course like Empowering Voices, I hope my recollection of how my worries were washed away makes it seem less overwhelming.
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