Joe Biden: From overcoming stuttering to becoming a great orator

Addressing millions of Americans is something that requires eloquence, fluency and confidence. For the 46th President of the United States- Joe Biden, who overcame a stutter as a child, every stump speech and oration is a reminder of how far he’s come. However, he isn’t the only public figure who overcame stammering- here’s looking at these public personalities who overcame their speech issue.

The historic speech of the 46th President of the United States- Joe Biden was a breath of fresh air for the entire world. He stressed on faith, democracy, the importance of working together and fighting manufactured facts. This was a winning President’s speech.

However, little do people know that Joe had a stuttering issue. He came out publicly a few years ago and said that he overcame a stutter after years of childhood teasing, including taunts from his seventh-grade teacher who mocked him in front of the whole class. And on his inauguration speech- a historic one for sure, he said: “We’ll lead not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. We will be judged, you and I, by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era. Will we rise to the occasion? Will we master this rare and difficult hour?”

The legendary British comic actor Rowan Atkinson has never been known for being loquacious -- in his most beloved role, he was the nearly silent but no less bumbling Mr Bean -- but it was acting that truly helped Atkinson free himself from his stutter. Bullied as a young man, the only time he didn’t stutter was on stage, where he became exceptional.

As a young African-American child born to a single mother in Chattanooga, Tenn., during segregation, Samuel L. Jackson has had to overcome a lot to get to where he is. He was encouraged by his speech therapist to pursue acting, but to this day, he still struggles day-to-day with his stuttering. He said, “I was the other day on the set of Captain America, and they said 'Action!" and I said, 'G-g-g-et ...' It was a G day. So I have my days. I have G days, I have P days, I have B days, I have S days, and I'm still stuttering.”

Tiger Woods struggled with a stutter growing up. Woods composed a letter to a high-school-aged boy who was being bullied for his stutter to the point he was contemplating suicide, writing, “I know what it’s like to be different and to sometimes not fit in.” He continued, “I also stuttered as a child and I would talk to my dog and he would sit there and listen until he fell asleep."

One biographer says Teddy had a “high-pitched, somewhat stuttering voice” though another said he had something “more like a shy palate than a stutter.” Roosevelt worked hard to practice and perfect his speech until whatever it was – stutter or shy palate – was barely detected in his speeches.

There’s been some debate over the years as to whether Churchill’s impediment was a lisp or stuttering. Recent research suggests that he may actually have had both. Whatever it was, Churchill wasn’t outwardly bothered by it, saying, “My impediment is no hindrance.”

Unsurprisingly, the journey to becoming a successful and beloved King wasn't an easy one for George VI. He was thrown into the job unexpectedly, of course, but his anxiety about taking on the role was only compounded by the stammer he had struggled with ever since he was a young boy. As is shown in the Oscar-winning 2010 movie The King's Speech, George VI (who was known as Albert or "Bertie" to those closest to him) struggled with a stutter from a young age.