Reading aloud the Welcoming and Closing Words at Chapter meetings serves a variety of purposes. The Welcoming Words reinforces the supportive nature of why we meet as a group and it outlines what new attendees can expect to experience. The Closing Words offers the group a message of encouragement and unity as we go back to our everyday lives.

A best practice is to ask for a volunteer to read aloud the Welcoming Words at the start of a meeting and for someone to recite the Closing Words when your meeting ends.

Welcoming Words

Welcome to the _________ Chapter of the National Stuttering Association. If you are a person who stutters or has a special interest in stuttering, you are welcome here.

For the time we meet here, this room is a very special place. It’s a place where we are accepted and supported. It’s a place where we can stutter openly without fear and embarrassment.

Together, we will help each other and we will help ourselves to accept and cope with our stuttering, to build our self-confidence, and to improve our communication skills.

We who stutter, and those who support and help us, are not alone. Together we are changing lives.

Closing Words

May the spirit we have shared tonight help us be more comfortable with our speech in the coming weeks.

May we go into speaking situations, without force or struggle, accepting ourselves regardless of our fluency,

We are never alone. Together we are changing lives.