The Kiwi tech entrepreneur, who has just celebrated earning U$100 million annualised revenue through his online accounting software firm Xero, is opening up its Auckland offices for this event, which will also mark International Stuttering Awareness Day (officially October 22).
"I have a huge amount of empathy for other people who stutter. I look forward to sharing my experiences with people and telling them how I got through this," he says, adding that he hopes to inspire others to believe "you too can go on to do great things".
Mr Drury says overcoming his speech problems was central to being able to start Xero eight years ago.
He was New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year for 2013. Last week, Xero won the BRW most innovative company 2014 award in Australia and a Silicon Valley award for its mobile application.
Mr Drury's future is bright, but he will never forget his tough past. He was 8 when he first realised he jumbled his words because of "a delayed auditory feedback loop".
Although he had speech therapy right through his time at Napier Boys High School, he still struggled with talking well into his 20s. He used to fear any situation where he had to talk; even talking on the phone would give a sense of "dread".
What helped him was a smooth-speech course, which he did when aged about 27.
He was taught to "seize any opportunity to speak", and these days he even makes himself ask questions if in an audience "just to practise".
Stuttering was the subject of 2010 movie The King's Speech, in which King George VI (Colin Firth) overcame a speech impediment with the aid of Australian therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).
About stuttering
• There's a strong genetic predisposition to stuttering, says Janelle Irvine, manager of the Start charity.
It affects up to 45,000 Kiwis. Experts are yet to fully pinpoint why it occurs.
• About 10 per cent of preschoolers go through a period of stuttering while developing their language skills but most overcome it.
In adults, it affects about three or four times more men than women.
If you're concerned about your child stuttering, give them your full attention when they speak so they don't feel pressured to get their message across. Do not finish off their sentences; be patient.
• Techniques to avoid stuttering include slowing down your speech and softening words - this removes "effort and tension", which can fuel stuttering.
Join the Start talk and breakfast (tickets are $65). Find out more at www.stuttering.co.nz.
