{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "id": "CC-069",
  "title": "How can an ordinary errand give me a reason to speak?",
  "topic": "Conversations and practice",
  "author": {
    "name": "Craig Coffee",
    "id": "https://usedtostutter.com/craig-coffee#person"
  },
  "canonical_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter",
  "access": "public",
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  "context_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/about-this-material",
  "source_sha256": "131ce5b9ca0ececc4ae8260f879bbaf0e08d97095d1885b9fd07555812c10b44",
  "source_markdown": "# How can an ordinary errand give me a reason to speak?\n\nBy [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)\n\nI needed pizza dough. That gave me a reason to ask somebody where it was. An ordinary errand can contain that much of an opening.\n\nIn the short grocery recording, I greeted the person and said I was trying to find fresh dough to make a pizza. I asked whether it was in the bakery. Then I followed up about sauce and cheese and said thank you.\n\nI explained afterward that this was an example of the daily talking I had practiced. I needed something. I asked. The exchange could be short and still give me a chance to use my voice.\n\n## What did I actually have to do?\n\nI had to approach a person, ask where the item was and respond as the errand developed. Those were the ordinary things that had once felt so difficult to me.\n\nThe questions were about what I was actually shopping for. I asked about the dough, then sauce and cheese, and thanked the person.\n\n## The example I gave using Target\n\nI also described an imagined trip to Target. You ask an employee where something is. They tell you it is in the back corner. You can thank them and go get it.\n\nOr you might say something about how far they must walk during a shift: “I bet you walk like two miles here.” In the example, I imagine that they might laugh and agree that it feels like they walk forever.\n\nThen there is another choice. You can keep talking or go get the item. The imagined answer was part of my illustration. I used it to explain how interest in a response could turn a practical question into a little conversation.\n\n## A conversation while waiting for food\n\nIn a group call, I told a story about going into Tropical Smoothie to collect food I had ordered on my phone. It seemed slow. A woman and her child were waiting too.\n\nI asked how long she had been waiting for her food. We went back and forth for about four minutes, until her order was ready. That was my recollection of the encounter.\n\nThe wait gave us something in common. I had a question about something happening right there. I didn't need to invent a long introduction about myself.\n\n## The next part comes from the answer\n\nThe same idea shows up in the cookies conversation. I asked a man about the food he was looking at, and he told me he couldn't eat it because he was diabetic. I had to respond to his answer, not the one I might have imagined.\n\nThat is [the follow-up work](/following-up-in-a-conversation) I practiced: hear the person, get interested and see what comes next. Sometimes there is more to say. Sometimes the errand is complete, and a thank-you is enough.\n\nA grocery store or another ordinary place gave me chances to work on those things. I didn't have to make every conversation into a major event. I wanted to be able to do the everyday speaking my life required and learn from doing it.\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [How do I start a conversation when I stutter?](/starting-conversations-when-you-stutter)\n- [What is my Once-a-Day Challenge?](/daily-stuttering-practice)\n\n[Find your question](/questions)\n",
  "relative_link_base": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "reading-content",
      "heading": null,
      "heading_level": null,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter#reading-content",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "I needed pizza dough. That gave me a reason to ask somebody where it was. An ordinary errand can contain that much of an opening.\n\nIn the short grocery recording, I greeted the person and said I was trying to find fresh dough to make a pizza. I asked whether it was in the bakery. Then I followed up about sauce and cheese and said thank you.\n\nI explained afterward that this was an example of the daily talking I had practiced. I needed something. I asked. The exchange could be short and still give me a chance to use my voice.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "c4e5f5f112d5e14be88b8d41d6b8acde5bd2fd34156bccda40696c224df47eaf"
    },
    {
      "id": "what-did-i-actually-have-to-do",
      "heading": "What did I actually have to do?",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter#what-did-i-actually-have-to-do",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## What did I actually have to do?\n\nI had to approach a person, ask where the item was and respond as the errand developed. Those were the ordinary things that had once felt so difficult to me.\n\nThe questions were about what I was actually shopping for. I asked about the dough, then sauce and cheese, and thanked the person.\n\n",
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    {
      "id": "the-example-i-gave-using-target",
      "heading": "The example I gave using Target",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter#the-example-i-gave-using-target",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## The example I gave using Target\n\nI also described an imagined trip to Target. You ask an employee where something is. They tell you it is in the back corner. You can thank them and go get it.\n\nOr you might say something about how far they must walk during a shift: “I bet you walk like two miles here.” In the example, I imagine that they might laugh and agree that it feels like they walk forever.\n\nThen there is another choice. You can keep talking or go get the item. The imagined answer was part of my illustration. I used it to explain how interest in a response could turn a practical question into a little conversation.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "6cccce6e296243676837b2412cc150153eb11a7ff660673a68e5e148fa299651"
    },
    {
      "id": "a-conversation-while-waiting-for-food",
      "heading": "A conversation while waiting for food",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter#a-conversation-while-waiting-for-food",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## A conversation while waiting for food\n\nIn a group call, I told a story about going into Tropical Smoothie to collect food I had ordered on my phone. It seemed slow. A woman and her child were waiting too.\n\nI asked how long she had been waiting for her food. We went back and forth for about four minutes, until her order was ready. That was my recollection of the encounter.\n\nThe wait gave us something in common. I had a question about something happening right there. I didn't need to invent a long introduction about myself.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "fb5371cfb66b9765669c19b06fe568e1f2a0a2aca75cf07917dcf65d35ce3fa0"
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      "id": "the-next-part-comes-from-the-answer",
      "heading": "The next part comes from the answer",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter#the-next-part-comes-from-the-answer",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## The next part comes from the answer\n\nThe same idea shows up in the cookies conversation. I asked a man about the food he was looking at, and he told me he couldn't eat it because he was diabetic. I had to respond to his answer, not the one I might have imagined.\n\nThat is [the follow-up work](/following-up-in-a-conversation) I practiced: hear the person, get interested and see what comes next. Sometimes there is more to say. Sometimes the errand is complete, and a thank-you is enough.\n\nA grocery store or another ordinary place gave me chances to work on those things. I didn't have to make every conversation into a major event. I wanted to be able to do the everyday speaking my life required and learn from doing it.\n\n",
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    {
      "id": "related-answers",
      "heading": "Related answers",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/asking-for-help-in-a-store-when-you-stutter#related-answers",
      "role": "navigation",
      "source_markdown": "## Related answers\n\n- [How do I start a conversation when I stutter?](/starting-conversations-when-you-stutter)\n- [What is my Once-a-Day Challenge?](/daily-stuttering-practice)\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "120760b3e77987f33b4971ab72f7c62a2a77116ad9b8801a3fe6a0aad0f3155a"
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}