Beyond the Words: Understanding Stammering and Creating More Inclusive Workplaces

Facilitated by Graeme Pickering, Founder of Stammers Matter

Stammering is often misunderstood, yet for many people it can have a significant impact on confidence, communication and their experience in the workplace. This insightful and engaging webinar will raise awareness of stammering, challenge common misconceptions and explore what employers and colleagues can do to create more inclusive environments.

Drawing on his personal experience and expertise, Graeme Pickering, Founder of Stammers Matter, will explore what it is really like to navigate a stammer in professional settings, from meetings and presentations to recruitment, progression and everyday workplace conversations.

The session will provide practical guidance for organisations and individuals on how small changes in behaviour, communication and workplace culture can make a meaningful difference. It will also encourage attendees to consider how we can move beyond simply being aware of stammering towards creating workplaces where people who stammer feel confident, valued and able to thrive.This webinar is suitable for HR, EDI and People professionals, managers, employee network leads and anyone interested in creating more inclusive workplaces.

About the facilitator

Graeme Pickering is the founder of Stammers Matter CIC, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness, challenging misconceptions and growing representation of people who stammer. Through Stammers Matter, Graeme works with organisations, creative industries and businesses to create more inclusive environments where people who speak differently are listened to, valued and given the space to communicate in their own way.

With a lifelong experience of stammering, Graeme brings a personal perspective to his work alongside his professional experience as a creative practitioner, speaker and advocate. His work challenges the idea that stammering is something that needs to be fixed, hidden or overcome, instead encouraging organisations to understand the barriers that people who stammer can face and consider how small changes in communication and workplace culture can make a significant difference.

Graeme has worked across theatre, television and the performing arts for many years as a choreographer, casting director and creative. His experience of working in an industry where communication, auditions, meetings and public speaking are often central to opportunities has given him a unique insight into how people who stammer can be perceived — and how those perceptions can affect confidence, progression and inclusion.

Through his Stammers Matter talks, Graeme combines lived experience, professional insight and real-world examples to open up honest conversations about stammering in the workplace. His talks are engaging, thought-provoking and practical, giving teams the opportunity to better understand stammering, challenge assumptions and create workplaces where every voice has the opportunity to be heard.