Question: I don't know anyone who stammers so I'm asking here: That trick Lionel pulled when he had Bertie reading with the earphones on and the music blasting - does it really work? Bertie obviously thinks he's still stammering, but don't stammerers sense if they're doing it even if they can't hear themselves speaking? And if it does work, why the drama with the radio broadcasts? Bertie could have put the earphones on and simply read the broadcast like he did "Hamlet".
The King's Speech (2010)
1 question
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Starring: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush
Other mistake: When Elizabeth (and later Elizabeth and Bertie) visit Lionel's flat, they take the elevator down. With its huge windows, the flat is obviously not below ground level. And certainly no one would ascend to a higher floor only to take the elevator down to his destination.
Lionel Logue: I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you.
King George VI: My physicians say it relaxes the throat.
Lionel Logue: They're idiots.
King George VI: They've all been knighted.
Lionel Logue: Makes it official then.
Trivia: David Seidler won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for this film. At the age of 73, Seidler was the oldest person to win the Award.
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Answer: The technique is called "masking" and all though it can sometimes help those who stutter it is not 100% reliable. It will make some stutter less, others will not notice any difference. It would probably be very inconvenient to Bertie not to hear himself at all during an important speech, not to mention that those around him might find the whole thing strange. You can read more about research on this technique and other similar ones here: http://ajslp.asha.org/cgi/content/abstract/16/1/77.
littlestar