Frequently asked questions
Why choose Empowering Voices?
We are a UK charity run by people that stammer. We have found a way to control our speech, to be able to say what we want, when we want.
Any income from courses, grants or donations is spent on improving our support and keeping the cost of courses as affordable as possible.
What's the Empowering Voices Technique?
We haven't re-invented the wheel; we have re-imagined it. Our technique uses costal breathing, a specific speech pattern and building emotional resilience.
Our trustees, course leaders and mentors have been fortunate enough to benefit from years of volunteering at other organisations that teach this technique.
What is costal breathing?
It is a way of breathing to help control your stammer. Our ribs have little strips of muscle that run between each rib; these strips of muscle are called intercostal muscles. We teach you a costal breathing technique that helps you breathe using your intercostal muscles. We see people who costal breath all the time, such as singers, news readers, weather presenters, actors, and professional presenters. Costal breathing as a way to help speech has been around for a long time.
In the 1920s, some elocution teachers taught their pupils the importance of breathing when speaking. It has been suggested that Lionel Logue, the famous Australian speech therapist who helped King George VI tame his stammer, adopted this approach. Later, in the 1970s, Azrin and Nunn published scientific papers highlighting the importance of deep breathing to control a stammer. Towards the end of the 20th century, organisations such as the McGuire Programme and the Starfish Project started to use costal breathing to help people control their stammers.
Empowering Voices uses the power of the costal breath in synchronicity with a tried and tested speech pattern, and desensitisation techniques to help people climb out of the distress of a stammer.
Is the Empowering Voices Technique difficult to learn?
The great news is that the technique is really easy to learn: it’s just a handful of simple things to remember every time you speak. The most challenging part is to remember to follow the steps all the time and it takes a lot of commitment.
Our technique works best if you use it every time you speak. If you do this, you will be more confident that it will work when you really need it, including when introducing yourself to a stranger, at job interviews or when making a speech.
Do Empowering Voices use traditionally trained speech and language therapists?
Where are the courses held?
We hold courses throughout England, Wales, and Scotland. Our philosophy is to make our courses as accessible as possible.
Your courses are £250; how do you do it so inexpensively?
The cost could be prohibitive for people considering changing their speech. This is how we keep our costs down:
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Empowering Voices is run as a charity. We don’t take a salary, make a profit or pay dividends: all trustees and volunteers give their time freely.
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Our website, social media and every other function are run, wherever possible, by volunteers at as close as possible to zero cost.
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Any money we receive as course payments, donations or grants are used to improve or subsidise our offering.
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We flex our credentials as a charity and receive preferential rates for the meeting rooms we hire.
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We avoid hotels with meeting rooms masquerading as conference facilities. These tend to be very expensive, and we don’t believe that our course participants should pay for unnecessary extras.
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We use premium budget hotels such as Premier Inn, Travelodge, Ibis and Holiday Inn Express. You get a comfortable night’s sleep without paying for the big brand names.
How much do the volunteers who run Empowering Voices get paid?
Nothing. We are a charity, and it’s illegal for charity trustees to get paid. We are doing it to be able to help other people control their speech and speak when we want, just like we have.
We aren’t traditionally trained speech and language therapists; success in helping others often comes from shared experiences. The empathy and understanding you receive from someone who has lived through a stammer is undoubtedly a crucial step to helping you speak in a clear and calm manner.
There are numerous examples of lived experience being an essential element to successfully overcome adversity, such as sports coaches, business mentors and alcohol and drug counsellors.
Helping you control your speech is the same. We have walked in your shoes; we know how impactful shattering gaining control over your speech is – we are just like you.