POlitically correct response to a stutter

[Mat]

If you find yourself talking to someone who has a stutter, what is the best course of action to take if they get stuck on a word which you know and is, for example, part of a question?

E.g. This person wants to know if your friend, Tom, is in. You know that this person is asking for Tom but they get stuck on the 'T' in Tom... they want to ask "Is Tom there?" but only get as far as "Is T-t-t-t...".

Do you wait until they manage to finish the word or do you interrupt, finishing the sentence for them? Is one of those choices more offensive than the other or is it completely dependant on the person with the stutter?

 

[Judgeneo]

Slap 'em.



Actually don't know whats the best response

 

[Xordium]

I wonder never finish for them rather allow them the time to rephrase the query.

 

[anything I don't mind]

Just answer the question as if you heard it all and ignore the stutter. If you can't answer the question then you have to wait for the stutter anyway, ie you have no choice.

 

[p1RATE]

Interrupt him and respond saying ‘No t-t-t-t-t-t-tom isn’t in’

either that or say 'Spit it out'

 

[Cosimo]

Wait for them to spit it out......

 

[blueseidboy]

i tried to write a response to this and realised i have no idea what the correct thing to do is, i would probably wait it out unless it was a seriously long pause.

 

[DirtyJester]

Signal with one hand as in wait, while covering mouth with other hand. Cough then apologize and finish with was it Tom you are after...

 

[arknor]

ask if they make awesome machine gun noises

 

[bhavv]

It may not be politically correct, but with my poor hearing, I would reply 'What?' ... a few times

Well - 'What? .... Sorry could you say that again? .... I still didnt get it, could you speak a bit louder? .... eeeerrrrrmmmmm .... *Just nod head and say 'Yea'*.

 

[peps1]

You let them Finnish, jumping In and trying to Finnish what they are trying to say can have adversed effects of the condition.....as well as being a little presumptive.

 

[p1RATE]

Best thing to do is just repeat what you think they might be asking to help them out before you jump into the answer. Best not to assume you know what the questions is before jumping into an answer. No one really cares about being interrupted just so long as you are nice to them.

 

[Vanilla]

'OH JUST SPIT IT OUT MAN'*


* I always wait.

 

[R.P.L]

Best thing to do is just repeat what you think they might be asking to help them out before you jump into the answer. Best not to assume you know what the questions is before jumping into an answer. No one really cares about being interrupted just so long as you are nice to them.

I'd go with this. If they get offended then chances are they're a douchebag

 

[kenshinu]

As someone who has a stutter, if it's around friends I don't care what they'd say.

If it were a stranger, doing what p1RATE said would be the least offensive to me.

 

[R.P.L]

I'd also add that the 'politically correct' thing to do would probably be to wait, but as political correctness is largely (if not completely) ridiculous, I would just go with what makes sense (see my previous response).

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

It may not be politically correct, but with my poor hearing, I would reply 'What?' ... a few times

I might do that too, say a few names like did you mean Tom? Terry? Are you partially hearing btw Bhavv? Very interesting if you are, because that makes 2 of us in this thread.

 

[bhavv]

I might do that too, say a few names like did you mean Tom? Terry? Are you partially hearing btw Bhavv? Very interesting if you are, because that makes 2 of us in this thread.

Yea, im supposed to wear a hearing aid in both ears, but its way more fun if I dont, I prefer the silence!

 

[Woden]

Give them time to say it. Anything else will draw attention to the stutter, making things worse for them, and they will stutter even more.

 

[Marky]

You're patient and wait for them to finish :/

It's just plain rude if you interrupt them, never mind if they have a stutter