Stuttering eloquence competition: seven candidates will overcome their speech impediment in the final in Montpellier

Sept candidats touchés par le bégaiement vont prendre la parole en public. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN

Youssef, Michaël, Laurie et les autres ont en commun ce trouble de la communication. Ils sont en lice pour ce premier concours d'éloquence qui aura lieu samedi 24 février à Montpellier, salle Rabelais. 

This is a first in Montpellier. Seven candidates are in the running to participate in the final of the stuttering eloquence competition which will take place on Saturday February 24 at the Rabelais Hall. Organized by Paul-Valéry University which has a dedicated laboratory (Praxiling), this competition already exists in Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Lille and Nantes. 

"This project shows that disabilities impacting communication enhance eloquence", say the organizers including Fabrice Hirsch. Director of the Praxiling laboratory at Paul-Valéry University, he leads the Benephidire project (Stuttering: neurology, phonetics and computer science for its diagnosis and treatment). re-education). His work aims to find out more about this language disorder to make the lives of people affected by it easier.  

Very varied profiles

The candidates' profiles clearly illustrate the diversity of people who stutter. Among them, Youssef, 37 years old, production agent, Michaël 34 years old project manager in administration and Laurie 23 years old, master's degree in public communication and politics in hand. They all share the same desire to change the way we look at stuttering. "This competition is an example of people who accomplish what we think is impossible: like being a stutterer and yet a speaker" . Isn't the stuttering comedian Valentin Reinehr leading the way on the stand-up stages…

More than speech therapy, coaching!

All candidates follow a training program based on coaching methods. "Contrary to what is done in France, mainly via levers such as speech therapy, our method is based on Anglo-Saxon principles of coaching and surpassing of oneself", indicates Mounah Bizri, vice-president of the APB and founder of the Eloquence of Stuttering. The result: they gain confidence and see a positive impact in their daily lives.  So if you want to encourage them with your applause, see you on Saturday February 24!

Saturday, February 24, at 2 p.m., Rabelais room. To register, click here.