TRANSCRIPT OF A PRESENTATION, BY ALAN BADMINGTON, TO ...

ecame totally desensitised and my perceptions and beliefs about what
others thought in relation to my speech became so positive.
Newspaper after newspaper carried my story and I was to undergo many
radio and television interviews. My comfort zones continued to expand as
well as my previous narrow self- image.
Following my return to the UK, I joined three speakers’ clubs and now
regularly give prepared and impromptu speeches. One experienced
member, who was a public speaking tutor for more than 25 years, confided
(on hearing me make my maiden speech) that he would never have
suspected I had ever been troubled by a speech impediment. It is
comments of this nature that help to change the narrow and negative way in
which we have viewed ourselves for so long.
A few months ago, I engineered a ‘chance’ meeting with my former Chief
Constable at the funeral of a colleague. I knew he would be present and
purposely sought him out. I had experienced some harrowing moments
while speaking to him in the past, and wanted to exorcise those ghosts. He
was wide-mouthed when he told me that he did not recognise me as the
officer who had served under his command for so many years – and whom
he would not promote under any circumstances.
Having achieved this, my hexagon rocketed with positivity, and it was not
long before I embarked upon the next stage of dismantling my stuttering
structure.
Live radio interview followed live radio interview (not just about stuttering
but also about other topics) as I pursued my relentless quest for recovery.
I am not ashamed to admit that I regularly play over those tapes when I am
in the car. Not for any egotistical reason but merely as a positive
affirmation.
Since childhood, my stuttering had been fuelled by the pain and misery I
encountered. For over half a century I constantly reminded myself of what
I could NOT do, or the dire consequences of attempting to speak in certain