{ "schema_version": "1.0", "id": "CC-083", "title": "How did my speech change from one situation to another?", "topic": "Foundational explanation", "author": { "name": "Craig Coffee", "id": "https://usedtostutter.com/craig-coffee#person" }, "canonical_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes", "access": "public", "content_kind": "author_published_article", "context_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/about-this-material", "source_sha256": "79987241247a19ac0fd583d43ca41d27d982b8cb8dc03ecf2246634ffadfb299", "source_markdown": "# How did my speech change from one situation to another?\n\nBy [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)\n\nMy speech wasn't the same in every situation. That was one of the things I kept trying to figure out.\n\nWhen I was starting to talk to strangers, I noticed something small. If somebody approached me, I felt intimidated. If I approached them, I felt slightly less intimidated. I was still stuttering. But slightly better was something I could notice and work with.\n\nI started having [one conversation a day](/daily-stuttering-practice). At first, I hadn't worked out a whole plan. Later it became intentional. I was practicing.\n\n## The setting mattered to me\n\nCollege gave me some hard experiences. Living in a fraternity house was constant noise, constant stuff happening. My speech got bad enough that I went back to speech therapy on campus.\n\nLater, studying abroad gave me a different experience. I was putting a lot of effort into learning another language, and when I spoke English to friends back home, I noticed that my speech was better.\n\nI've also said that the improvement didn't carry over long term. It was [a temporary breakthrough](/stuttering-in-different-languages). I came home trying to understand what had happened and how to get more of that freedom in ordinary life.\n\n## A good opening did not tell the whole story\n\nIn college, I got an invitation for ice cream out fluently, then struggled to say my hometown, major and fraternity in the conversation. I was gaining confidence and still learning how to maintain my speech. [That afternoon is one of the examples I describe.](/dating-with-a-stutter)\n\n## How I felt going in was part of it\n\nI talk about feeling [Two Inches Tall or Ten Feet Tall](/feeling-intimidated-when-you-stutter) because that's how different a situation could feel to me. I could walk in feeling small and intimidated, already expecting a bad time. I wanted to learn how to bring some confidence with me.\n\nMusic was one thing I used. Remembering a small speaking success was another. Before a harder interaction, I might have a few smaller conversations to get myself going.\n\nNone of that meant every attempt went well. I've described the times I blocked, the times I wasn't quick enough to respond, and the work it took to figure things out.\n\nI also learned that good speech in one moment didn't automatically mean good speech for the rest of the day. I cared about being able to move from one conversation to another.\n\nThat's the variation I can speak about from my own life: different people, different settings, how I felt going in, and what happened when I tried. I kept looking for something I could use beyond [one good moment](/keeping-my-speaking-practice-going).\n\n## What did I say when someone asked about good days and bad days?\n\nSomeone told me about a day when his speech felt great and asked why other days could be so different. I said my guess was that he had felt more confident, wasn't thinking about his stutter, or had gone into the day with better feelings.\n\nHe said it seemed more random to him. I thought there had to be something to it, and I kept asking about the kinds of days when it happened. He couldn't identify what had changed; he said speaking had just felt easier.\n\nI was talking through my belief about the feeling, the confidence, and what he anticipated. I kept calling it my guess. He eventually said, “I guess you're right.” That was the conversation we had about his experience.\n\n## What Don said about being tired\n\nDon also challenged the idea that tiredness meant his speech had to be bad. In the call about getting ready to speak, he told me tiredness didn't help, but said he believed his speech could still be fluent when he was tired.\n\n> **Don:** So I know it's, I mean, I know it doesn't help, but I know my speech can still be fluent with me still being tired.\n\n> **Craig:** Yes. But the thing, well, so look, maybe your speech can be good with the sleeping habits, which is fine, but you can't have good confidence speech while you feel tired. And that's a great point.\n\n## A participant described feeling better again later in the day\n\nAnother participant, using the name “dog,” described a whole day. He arrived at work upbeat, spoke in the kitchen and with his manager, and then something went badly around lunchtime. Later, he might have a workout and feel better again.\n\nI thanked him for sharing that example. He had described the way momentum felt in his own life. I told him I wanted people to push back and discuss these things with me.\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [What happened to my speech when I went to college?](/stuttering-in-college)\n- [Did I still feel nervous when I spoke?](/stuttering-when-nervous)\n\n[Find your question](/questions)\n", "relative_link_base": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes", "sections": [ { "id": "reading-content", "heading": null, "heading_level": null, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#reading-content", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "My speech wasn't the same in every situation. That was one of the things I kept trying to figure out.\n\nWhen I was starting to talk to strangers, I noticed something small. If somebody approached me, I felt intimidated. If I approached them, I felt slightly less intimidated. I was still stuttering. But slightly better was something I could notice and work with.\n\nI started having [one conversation a day](/daily-stuttering-practice). At first, I hadn't worked out a whole plan. Later it became intentional. I was practicing.\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "dbfea564b794630bd5a93363c3dae20fe90648dd53f61a45669320f25148565c" }, { "id": "the-setting-mattered-to-me", "heading": "The setting mattered to me", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#the-setting-mattered-to-me", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "## The setting mattered to me\n\nCollege gave me some hard experiences. Living in a fraternity house was constant noise, constant stuff happening. My speech got bad enough that I went back to speech therapy on campus.\n\nLater, studying abroad gave me a different experience. I was putting a lot of effort into learning another language, and when I spoke English to friends back home, I noticed that my speech was better.\n\nI've also said that the improvement didn't carry over long term. It was [a temporary breakthrough](/stuttering-in-different-languages). I came home trying to understand what had happened and how to get more of that freedom in ordinary life.\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "0b1079c52ba9bc29c02affe5df3350e0b9b3d370f053836e9dc658167d34e8ce" }, { "id": "a-good-opening-did-not-tell-the-whole-story", "heading": "A good opening did not tell the whole story", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#a-good-opening-did-not-tell-the-whole-story", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "## A good opening did not tell the whole story\n\nIn college, I got an invitation for ice cream out fluently, then struggled to say my hometown, major and fraternity in the conversation. I was gaining confidence and still learning how to maintain my speech. [That afternoon is one of the examples I describe.](/dating-with-a-stutter)\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "dd37987cc11ef7260066320b86b900007813f4c501edd222fd8665ad79b05ac4" }, { "id": "how-i-felt-going-in-was-part-of-it", "heading": "How I felt going in was part of it", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#how-i-felt-going-in-was-part-of-it", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "## How I felt going in was part of it\n\nI talk about feeling [Two Inches Tall or Ten Feet Tall](/feeling-intimidated-when-you-stutter) because that's how different a situation could feel to me. I could walk in feeling small and intimidated, already expecting a bad time. I wanted to learn how to bring some confidence with me.\n\nMusic was one thing I used. Remembering a small speaking success was another. Before a harder interaction, I might have a few smaller conversations to get myself going.\n\nNone of that meant every attempt went well. I've described the times I blocked, the times I wasn't quick enough to respond, and the work it took to figure things out.\n\nI also learned that good speech in one moment didn't automatically mean good speech for the rest of the day. I cared about being able to move from one conversation to another.\n\nThat's the variation I can speak about from my own life: different people, different settings, how I felt going in, and what happened when I tried. I kept looking for something I could use beyond [one good moment](/keeping-my-speaking-practice-going).\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "6bf3531c7dc827b853990614da211dbd02da06beea924b80faa2fda1e5c865f2" }, { "id": "what-did-i-say-when-someone-asked-about-good-days-and-bad-days", "heading": "What did I say when someone asked about good days and bad days?", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#what-did-i-say-when-someone-asked-about-good-days-and-bad-days", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "## What did I say when someone asked about good days and bad days?\n\nSomeone told me about a day when his speech felt great and asked why other days could be so different. I said my guess was that he had felt more confident, wasn't thinking about his stutter, or had gone into the day with better feelings.\n\nHe said it seemed more random to him. I thought there had to be something to it, and I kept asking about the kinds of days when it happened. He couldn't identify what had changed; he said speaking had just felt easier.\n\nI was talking through my belief about the feeling, the confidence, and what he anticipated. I kept calling it my guess. He eventually said, “I guess you're right.” That was the conversation we had about his experience.\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "c1f09f45ede2a8a6e339bd272247000b1dbfa2158b9773f548f35a699d4c3c85" }, { "id": "what-don-said-about-being-tired", "heading": "What Don said about being tired", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#what-don-said-about-being-tired", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "## What Don said about being tired\n\nDon also challenged the idea that tiredness meant his speech had to be bad. In the call about getting ready to speak, he told me tiredness didn't help, but said he believed his speech could still be fluent when he was tired.\n\n> **Don:** So I know it's, I mean, I know it doesn't help, but I know my speech can still be fluent with me still being tired.\n\n> **Craig:** Yes. But the thing, well, so look, maybe your speech can be good with the sleeping habits, which is fine, but you can't have good confidence speech while you feel tired. And that's a great point.\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "2a9de50b714ec403118f6ebf2c5f5416169e8dec8f14130301dbe8a6500e78d2" }, { "id": "a-participant-described-feeling-better-again-later-in-the-day", "heading": "A participant described feeling better again later in the day", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#a-participant-described-feeling-better-again-later-in-the-day", "role": "source_context", "source_markdown": "## A participant described feeling better again later in the day\n\nAnother participant, using the name “dog,” described a whole day. He arrived at work upbeat, spoke in the kitchen and with his manager, and then something went badly around lunchtime. Later, he might have a workout and feel better again.\n\nI thanked him for sharing that example. He had described the way momentum felt in his own life. I told him I wanted people to push back and discuss these things with me.\n\n", "source_span_sha256": "57d5fcb8d1bfb722d53f83c08a48de46ab88f55bf98392440de0858cb5e7d731" }, { "id": "related-answers", "heading": "Related answers", "heading_level": 2, "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/why-stuttering-changes#related-answers", "role": "navigation", "source_markdown": "## Related answers\n\n- [What happened to my speech when I went to college?](/stuttering-in-college)\n- [Did I still feel nervous when I spoke?](/stuttering-when-nervous)\n", "source_span_sha256": "fc161a06af064c21052cb509876fe9b7502c08992d45b6fd0b501b3f7263917f" } ], "related_book_sections": [ { "id": "spain", "title": "SPAIN", "url": "https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/chapters/spain", "formats": { "json": "https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/chapters/spain.json", "xml": "https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/chapters/spain.xml", "md": "https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/chapters/spain.md", "txt": "https://usedtostutter.com/reader/book/editions/corrected-2026-10-04-9e1d376a993f/chapters/spain.txt" } } ] }