Overcoming Stuttering and Filler Words - The Marble Technique for Eliminating Speech Impediments

I st... st... st... ststutter... While severe stuttering is a medical problem and should be addressed by a health care professional, mild stuttering and other speech obstacles are impediments no one need suffer. Do you occasionally get caught on a word? Do you read smoothly, or does your speech break in places where it shouldn't? Do you say 'uh' or 'like' between every word? Here's how to fix it.

Materials Required

Boiling water (don't worry, it won't hurt!)
Mouth
Marbles
Books (preferably a Dr. Seuss, a Harry Potter, and a Bible)

Warning!

Marbles may pose a choking hazard.
Do not just drop marbles into boiling water - they may shatter! Allow them to heat with the water instead.

Directions

1. Sterilize 2-4 marbles in boiling water.
2. Grab a Harry Potter book.
3. Put marbles in mouth, but don't swallow!
4. As clearly as possible, read the book out loud.
5. Hear speech problems disappear!

Added Benefits

Improved enunciation.
Increase lip and tongue coordination.
Greater appreciation for unimpaired speech!

Why does it work? Marbles force you to speak slowly and to concentrate on the actual mechanics of speaking. They also make it hard to make any unnecessary sounds – so you won't say 'uh' or 'like'! Most importantly, however, the break old habits. When you are focusing on speaking itself, you don't utilize the same neural pathways that caused your stuttering, pausing, and other speech impediments. New habits replace the old!

To increase the marble drill's effectiveness, use Harry Potter (or another book) as a gage only. Read Dr. Seuss to increase flexibility and speed, and read the Old Testament to really break the old habits and give your brain a workout along with your mouth. When the reading gets easier, go faster!

Happy Speaking!

Devin R. Bean is a nationally acclaimed public speaker and writer. He currently edits http://www.speech-time.com and attends Harvard University. Visit http://www.speech-time.com for more free public speaking advice!

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Writing Made Them Rich #1: JK Rowling

Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury, England in 1965. She began writing at the age of 6 with a story called 'Rabbit', which she never finished.

In high school her favorite subject was English. From High School, Rowling went to Exeter University where she earned a degree in French.

After graduating, she spent a year studying in Paris and then went back to London where she worked in a number of jobs, including a year with Amnesty International and a short time as secretary for a publishing company, where she was responsible for sending out rejection slips.

In the summer of 1990, on a delayed train from Manchester to London, she came up with the idea of a boy who discovers he is a wizard. But it would be 7 years before the idea became a book.

In that same year her mother died of Multiple Sclerosis and she left for Portugal to teach English, hoping to find a way to deal with her grief.

In October 1992 she married a Portuguese television journalist, Jorge Arantes. But the marriage lasted just eleven months.

In 1993 she left her husband and returned to England, with the one legacy of her failed marriage - an infant daughter named Jessica.

Her life suddenly took a nose-dive. Fighting poverty and depression, she lived in a mice-infested flat in Edinburgh and struggled to raise her baby daughter on a welfare check of 70 pounds ($100) a week.

Unable to heat her flat, she sat in cafés nursing an espresso for 2 hours at a time and worked feverishly on the manuscript of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' while her baby daughter slept in a pram.

The manuscript is said to have been rejected by three British publishers - Penguin, Transworld and HarperCollins.

But Bloomsbury Children's Books did sign her up, reportedly paying £10,000 ($14,300) for the rights to 'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone'.

The Philosopher's Stone was published on 30 June, 1997 and was an instant success.

The book was published under her initials because her publisher feared that boys would be less likely to read the book if they knew it was written by a woman.

At a book fair in Italy later that year, Scholastic Books bought the American rights for $105,000, an unheard of figure for a children's writer with only one book to her name.

It was published in the States in 1998 with the title 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'.

The sequel - 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' - was published in June of 1999 and later that same year, the third book in the series was released, 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

By the time her fourth book appeared in 2000 - 'Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire' - the series had become an international phenomenon: the initial print run for her 4th book was 1.5 million copies in the UK and 3.8 million in the US.

By 2000, JK Rowland had become the highest-earning woman in Britain, with an income of more than £20.5 million ($29.3m) in the previous year.

In 2001 her annual earnings were estimated at over £24m, ($34.3m) placing her between Madonna and Paul McCartney in the ranks of high-earning celebrities.

In October 1998 Warner Brothers bought the rights to 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' and its sequel ('Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets'), for the tidy sum of $700,000.

With the release of the first Harry Potter film, J.K. Rowling's total earnings are estimated to have exceeded $100 million.

In March 2001 she was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by the Queen, for services to children's literature.

------------------------------------------------------------ Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this simple technique to build a successful online business. Click here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Southon

Store That Collection of Harry Potter Books In Your Kids' Bookshelves

Arrange those Harry Potter books starting with the first novel, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, to the 7th book, Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows. The saga that begun in 1997 ended in July 2007, but your children don't know that. They want Harry Potter to continue to thrill them with his brave exploits. So keep those books on the kids' bookshelves.

Magic, Wizards, and A Sad Little Boy

Combined in a bedtime story, magic, wizards, and a sad little boy make for spectacular storytelling. With the first book, you progressed to the next, and the one after that to satisfy your little ones until they were able to read the book on the own. As Harry Potter grew up, so did your kids. It's nice if you've kept the complete collection in kids' bookshelves. They'll never forget this hero who colored their bedtime with his feats and filled their childish friends with magic.

If you recall, your kids hated the Dursley family - long-necked Aunt Petunia, ill-tempered Uncle Vernon, and the fat pig-in-a-wig Dudley. They were the antagonists, just like the much loathed Lord Voldemort. Though the story has ended, they can still pick up these books anytime from the kids' bookshelves you've placed in their bedroom.

Sometimes you sneak a book out now and then when you're tired of the latest news and the troubles of the world. You prefer a Harry Potter book because at least, the turmoil and the intrigues were in far-away Hogwarts. The 7 books will remain on kids' bookshelves until they are old and tattered from repeated handling and reading during those rainy nights.

Even the tiniest member of the family will have his share of the bedtime magic. By that time, you've had the names of all the characters down pat - Harry (for sure), Ron, Hermione, the Dursleys, the Weasleys, Hagrid (the gentle half-giant), Dumbledore, and other amazing witches and wizards. You'll be describing in full detail the game of quidditch, the invisibility cloak, and the monsters that Harry Potter battled with.

Words of Wisdom

As the kids grow up, you'll be able to borrow words of wisdom when your kids are troubled or have tiffs with both friends and foe. If you get the book Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, you can quote the line: "it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends", and send your child out to the world with this reminder that will help shape their values.

Or if your kids are discouraged with their failed projects and friendships, you can also quote form Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire: "understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery." Beautiful and right on target. Your kids will understand this. Haven't they shared Harry's highs and lows too?

So be sure to keep those precious books on the kids' bookshelves until they have grown and until the baby has gone through the seven books. You'll be surprised that they'll remember the details of Hogwarts more than you can. Someday, they will share the magic with their own children. Just like J.K. Rowling, you've made this magic live in your children's hearts and minds. So keep those books on the kids' bookshelves.

Store books in your kids' bookshelves and your kids will have great reading adventures all the time curled up on kids' rockers Match these with an adorable toy storage box. Visit RonJuneShop.com today and shop for quality toys and children's furniture.

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Harry Potter Movies

I love movies, all movies. The only television I watch is usually a movie, with the exception of the Sopranos (what about that last episode huh!?) or possibly MindFreak, with the creepy but cute, Chris Angel.

I enjoy Harry Potter and love the books. I have read them all except the final one, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". My daughter has had her head buried in it for two days now, and I will be the next to read it.

These books stir the imagination and paint incredible pictures on our brains, children and adult alike.

We have seen the first Harry Potter movie, "The Sorcerers Stone". It was a disappointment in that it stole our imagination, and forever more when we read the books, we see the Harry from the movie, the Snape from the movie , the Hogwarts from the movie, and so on. We can't recall the others from our imagination, pre-movie!!

The original Harry Potter movie resembled the book as closely as possible. They did an amazing job, but regardless, the scene with the unicorn in the woods and Voldemort floating above with blood dripping from his mouth, burned a horrifying vision on my daughter's memory. The book never affected her in a negative way, but the visual seared a clear and lasting image. This leads me to the issue of movie ratings. Who in their right mind comes up with these G ratings? Are they insane or just childless? The only other explanation is that they are completely desensitized to the visual violence and terrifying images.

Why are they so desperate to have every child see these movies? Couldn't it be something for the younger children to look forward to with great anticipation, for when they get older? My son is seven and only just recently watched the first Harry Potter movie after completing the book. The book was an absolute prerequisite to the movie. He was prepared for most of what was coming , but even then we fast forwarded the scarier bits.

I know some will think me paranoid and over protective, which is fine with me. I know my children can sleep at night with the lights off and not have nightmares. I will reiterate what I said at the beginning, I love movies, all movies, but I think parents have to be choosy, even if it goes against the norm, and stand up to that adult peer pressure and do what is right for their child.

The movie ratings are not devised with a child's best interest at heart. The primary motivation is to get as many to see the movie as quickly as possible, and put as much money as possible into the pockets of the companies involved. I have friends who won't even let their children read the Harry Potter series. That is going a little too far for me, but the movie industry should be held socially responsible for the degree of realism in the content, and it is up to the parents to demand it. We will eventually see the entire series of Harry Potter movies, but in our own good time, and when each child is emotional ready.

Debbie is a professional home schooling mother, animal advocate, spiritual seeker, alternative thinker and business owner. You may visit Debbie's website at: http://www.santegoji.com/gochi.html

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