Focus areas

How do people deal with limitations in speaking fluenty, given the essential social importance of “talking with one another”? How do they signal to their communication partners that, although they may speak with a stutter, they are perfectly capable of thinking and acting fluently? What individual strategies do they employ, and what role do conventions, contexts, and communication partners play in this?

Our project follows an inclusive, multi-method approach. We begin “bottom-up” and participatory approach, conducting exploratory focus group interviews with adults who stutter. When are practiced speech techniques used, and in which situations do other, innovative forms of communication come into play? Is there always a plan, or is there also room for improvisation? The interview transcripts will be analyzed using approaches based on creativity and acceptance theory and will form the basis for a larger survey using standardized instruments. Looking ahead, we would like to conduct experimental studies as well as establish practical applications by deriving characteristics of helpful creative strategies from our research findings.