<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<article schema_version="1.0" id="CC-017" source_sha256="a770897de96c47821be9adb618cdaca1a0ec0c8d687599fb261ee16f316c20ea"><title>How did I try again after an embarrassing speaking moment?</title><author>Craig Coffee</author><canonical_url>https://usedtostutter.com/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day</canonical_url><source_markdown xml:space="preserve"># How did I try again after an embarrassing speaking moment?

By [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)

When you&apos;re doing battle, you gotta learn how to heal quick. That&apos;s how I put it, because talking to strangers each day was hard enough without feeling shitty all night when it didn&apos;t go well.

One of my survival tricks was learning not to care so much about what people thought of me. It took a long time, and I still work on it.

## The things I said to myself

This is me being real. I&apos;d be like, fuck that person. Or my favorite line: I don&apos;t care. I don&apos;t give a fuck.

They might have been nice. I said that too. I already felt bad, and worrying that they could judge me made it harder. I was trying to find a way to move on.

Another thing I told myself was that they were going to forget about me in three days. They weren&apos;t going to remember this. That was what I said to myself.

Did that mean I couldn&apos;t cry myself to bed that night? There was a good chance I did. I had a lot of bad days. I was doing this by myself, trying to work out what helped.

## What did I mean by saying they would forget?

In that group call, Crimson said something that had helped him in retail: telling himself he wasn&apos;t important enough to be on other people&apos;s minds. I understood what he was getting at, but I wanted to change that wording.

I didn&apos;t want to say I wasn&apos;t important. The thought I had used was that the other person would forget the encounter. I brought it back to the line I had told myself about three days. That was how I talked myself through the worry about what someone else thought of me.

## I had to change the way I treated myself

I also used, [“It&apos;s too early in the day to hate yourself.”](/negative-self-talk-after-stuttering) Morning or late at night, it was still too early. That was a crutch I used to stop talking shit to myself.

[Forgiving myself](/being-kind-to-yourself-after-stuttering) was hard. I wanted to talk well so badly. I was trying hard, and I needed to be kinder to myself while I was learning.

I kept working. This is what I did to get through those feelings while I was out there trying. Maybe it&apos;ll work for you too.

## Related answers

- [How did music help me before I went out to speak?](/music-before-speaking)
- [What have I said about the days when I want to back down?](/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech)

[Find your question](/questions)
</source_markdown><sections><section id="reading-content" role="source_context" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day#reading-content"><source_markdown xml:space="preserve">When you&apos;re doing battle, you gotta learn how to heal quick. That&apos;s how I put it, because talking to strangers each day was hard enough without feeling shitty all night when it didn&apos;t go well.

One of my survival tricks was learning not to care so much about what people thought of me. It took a long time, and I still work on it.

</source_markdown></section><section id="the-things-i-said-to-myself" role="source_context" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day#the-things-i-said-to-myself"><source_markdown xml:space="preserve">## The things I said to myself

This is me being real. I&apos;d be like, fuck that person. Or my favorite line: I don&apos;t care. I don&apos;t give a fuck.

They might have been nice. I said that too. I already felt bad, and worrying that they could judge me made it harder. I was trying to find a way to move on.

Another thing I told myself was that they were going to forget about me in three days. They weren&apos;t going to remember this. That was what I said to myself.

Did that mean I couldn&apos;t cry myself to bed that night? There was a good chance I did. I had a lot of bad days. I was doing this by myself, trying to work out what helped.

</source_markdown></section><section id="what-did-i-mean-by-saying-they-would-forget" role="source_context" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day#what-did-i-mean-by-saying-they-would-forget"><source_markdown xml:space="preserve">## What did I mean by saying they would forget?

In that group call, Crimson said something that had helped him in retail: telling himself he wasn&apos;t important enough to be on other people&apos;s minds. I understood what he was getting at, but I wanted to change that wording.

I didn&apos;t want to say I wasn&apos;t important. The thought I had used was that the other person would forget the encounter. I brought it back to the line I had told myself about three days. That was how I talked myself through the worry about what someone else thought of me.

</source_markdown></section><section id="i-had-to-change-the-way-i-treated-myself" role="source_context" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day#i-had-to-change-the-way-i-treated-myself"><source_markdown xml:space="preserve">## I had to change the way I treated myself

I also used, [“It&apos;s too early in the day to hate yourself.”](/negative-self-talk-after-stuttering) Morning or late at night, it was still too early. That was a crutch I used to stop talking shit to myself.

[Forgiving myself](/being-kind-to-yourself-after-stuttering) was hard. I wanted to talk well so badly. I was trying hard, and I needed to be kinder to myself while I was learning.

I kept working. This is what I did to get through those feelings while I was out there trying. Maybe it&apos;ll work for you too.

</source_markdown></section><section id="related-answers" role="navigation" citation_url="https://usedtostutter.com/confidence-after-bad-stuttering-day#related-answers"><source_markdown xml:space="preserve">## Related answers

- [How did music help me before I went out to speak?](/music-before-speaking)
- [What have I said about the days when I want to back down?](/when-you-dont-feel-like-practicing-speech)
</source_markdown></section></sections></article>
