As the Eloquence of Stuttering competition approaches, which takes place this Saturday April 2 at the EM Business School in Lyon, the finalist Kévin Montégu does not seem stressed. On the contrary, it will be an opportunity to “surpass” yourself, to “talk about yourself and be more authentic”.
But if Kevin has come this far, he owes it to a combination of circumstances. When the registrations were about to close, he received an advertisement in his mailbox and spoke to his speech therapist about it: “She told me that it would be an extraordinary human adventure, so I followed her advice, and she was right,” says Kevin.
Being confident in one’s self
For the finalist, this competition is also a “great breath of fresh air”. His adversaries, like him, all suffer from a form of stuttering. For Kévin, it’s stammering: “I’m not symptomatically stuttering, he specifies. I chew words, I articulate badly, I speak naturally quickly. I may be unintelligible to others, but I understand myself when I speak. »
It is through the training and training offered for the competition that the finalist was able to improve his speaking rate. But he also learned to gain more self-confidence. It is also in the game of glances that Kévin had to make efforts: “Me, I find it difficult to look people in the eye. It’s a mirror and we are afraid of the reaction of the other, he explains. So we learn to look at everyone, so that the public feels looked at without really doing it. It was my first challenge. »
A very personal speech
And challenges, he always wants more. For the finale, if one of his objectives is to “detach himself from the text and be more eloquent”, he especially wants to be able to be “more authentic”. His subject, “Can we live without speech”, where he will plead against his opponent, has also inspired him a lot: “I will reveal things that no one knows about me. Even if it means being less eloquent, I’m going to talk about myself, ”says Kévin.
It is therefore this Saturday, April 2, from 2 p.m., that he will have the opportunity to touch the hearts of the public and the jury. And maybe become the best stutterer of the year.