Top questions from NC!

We will be taking up questions asked by participants during NC. here are the first lot:

1. How acceptance is not “Giving up”? (By Anshuman)
   Both are different. TISA suggests: Accept that you actually stammer and that right now there are no universal, easy magic cure. Because no one really knows the cause. Having accepted these well known facts, you should focus on what is in your hands: Communication skills.
   Learn them and practice them- beginning from your Self help group. Gandhi ji, once said: Non-violence is not same as cowardice- even though they may seem same outwardly. Non-violence is meant for brave only, not cowards. 
   Similarly, Acceptance and "giving up" may seem same in stammering context but in reality both are poles apart. Giving up stems from pessimism. Acceptance emerges from "Realism" and is driven by common sense based on Realism. 
   
    
2. What is the shortest time to recover from stammering?
   We know of no short cuts, for the stammering which has persisted in adult life. Because, over the growing up period (from 5 to 15 yrs), it brings in certain long lasting changes in our ways of thinking, reacting, interpreting, analysing and feeling about ourselves and others. These changes do not go away in two days by reading "Positive thinking" books or watching NLP videos! 
   These ideas may help but not cure. You need to try many approaches at the same time for at least 6-9 months, CONSISTENTLY, in order to benefit in the long run. These approaches have been discussed freely in Apna Hath Jagannath and other online resources.
3. What are the three top techniques on stammering recovery?
   Every one stammers in a different way and therefore will benefit from different techniques to different extent. Still, in our experience, the three top methods of self-help are:
   1. Voluntary stammering
   2. Running a self help group for 6-9 months
   3. Tackling a new challenge every few days (Mock interviews, act on stage, learn French/ English/ Mandarin/ Tamil/ Classical music/ Bungy jumping/ Martial arts etc. For more ideas, check this)
   
   
4. What will be the requirement to have Communication workshop in a city other than Herbertpur (like Pune) ?
   1. Quality control by alumni of previous Communication workshops; Many Communication Workshops have been conducted in different places (Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Chandigarh etc.) and therefore plenty of alumni are available across the country, who should be involved in the process.
   2. you must develop a detailed workshop plan and share it with TISA core team, for approval. 
   3. The workshop should be activity based- not lecture oriented. 
   4. The workshop should be based on Acceptance and stuttering modification approach.
   5. Fee, necessary to pay for direct expenses, can be collected by a person authorised by TISA core group and the accounts have to be shared on web. 
   6. Plus any other guidance from the core group.If you are interested, you should learn facilitation skills in a nearby SHG and or in the next communication workshop elsewhere.
   
   
5. How to take TISA to more in country?
   Easy. Give up shame. Give up fear. Talk & write about stammering. Listen to a stammerer, as if your life depended on it.  That's all.
   
   
6. What is the one thing stammerer can keep in mind while speaking?
   Just one thought: How can I communicate with my audience? How can I make them understand what I know so well? How can I make it easy (and interesting) for them to understand?
   Any other thought will be a distraction and obstruction. Just focus on the message. But it can be difficult (if not impossible), if you have been living in constant FEAR of stammering. This is why, short cuts dont work. This is why, you should take up the systematic and consistent approach to self-therapy over 6-9 months, as discussed by many people and in TISA archives.