You see, Grant stutters. He has done since the age of 8. Although he employs various techniques to alleviate the problem, there are still times when the words stick.
Asked his age, he struggles, pausing: "You've got me stuttering now because I'm talking about myself ... I'm ... suh, suh, suh ... 71".
Clearly, stuttering is a problem he continues to battle.
"You are working on it all the time. I find when I'm a bit below par, say when I've flown home from Heathrow, then I have trouble asking for coffee on the plane, so I'll go for tea - that sort of thing.
"I think stuttering is so devastating because you look normal. Suddenly, you have to go into a café and ask for a t-t-t-tomato sandwich and because your face gets contorted the person serving gets nervous and laughs. They are not mocking, but are just caught out. I think a lot of stutterers wish they had an arm that was crippled so people could see.
"That's where stutterers struggle - it's the surprise. Everything looks normal and, suddenly, they're stuck."
In The King's Speech, Colin Firth plays the future King George VI, a man afflicted by a stutter so crippling he cannot speak in public. Although the film suggests the King's stuttering is a result of a repressed upbringing, there is no evidence stuttering is caused by an emotional disorder or a traumatic event.
Janelle Forman, a speech-language therapist who works for Auckland-based Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (Start), says current research is that stuttering is caused by a problem in the neural processing involved in speech production.
"That is a physiological thing, not an emotional thing. Most people, when told I'm a speech therapist who works with stutterers, say: 'That's a nervous thing, isn't it?' That certainly exacerbates the problem but it's not the cause."
The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children, named after the British actor following his role in A Fish Called Wanda, in which he portrayed a stuttering character called Ken (Palin based the role on his father) offers the following explanation: "Scientific advances, using brain-scanning techniques, are beginning to offer us a greater understanding about the way in which the brain is organised for speech and language.
"Recent research has investigated possible differences in cerebral dominance (being `right- or left-brained') between adults who stammer and those who don't. Early results appear to show that there may be subtle variations which might impact upon speaking skills."
Grant puts it another way: "Imagine that most people have 10 little men working on their speech computer; guys like me only have five. So if you get drunk or tired, they drop out on you and the computer gets blocked up."
It also appears a genetic predisposition might be involved in the development of the disorder, as it often runs in families. Exactly how genetics are involved remains unclear, Forman says.
Grant confirms his two sons stuttered when they were younger, as did three of his grandsons.
"One of those grandsons, at the age of 8, when questioned by a psychiatrist in the United States where he lives, said it didn't matter because 'Granddad stuttered and he was on television and radio all the time'," Grant laughs.
Indeed, Grant has made a living from speaking. With his wife Mary, he set up Parents Inc, a not-for-profit organisation whose operations include public parenting seminars around the country. Previously, the couple established Youth for Christ, had their own TV show, The Herd, and ran Campus Life clubs throughout New Zealand. Mr Grant also successfully auditioned for a job on TVNZ's Plain Speaking show in the 1970s.
Contrary to research, Grant is able to turn nervousness to his advantage when addressing a crowd or the cameras.
"You know there are 800 people in the audience and you can't muck it up. Now and again, when I get pally with an audience, when I relax a bit, I get caught out. It's not clear-cut. If I'm in an emergency, I'm fluent, but if I'm a bit underpowered it will climb up a bit."
The severity and type of stuttering varies from person to person. Interruptions to the flow of speech may be accompanied by signs of tension and struggle as well as fear, embarrassment and anxiety. It can affect a person's self-esteem and both social and work relationships.
It certainly caused problems for former All Black Royce Willis (35) who, having stuttered from the age of 4, became a withdrawn child, too shy to speak up in class.
"As a young kid, being hassled and all that, I found it really affected my schooling, because I wouldn't ask questions and was hiding all the time. That was until I was about 12 or 13 years old and then the teachers realised I was miles behind. They got me special help.
"Once I'd caught up with everyone else I was OK. Because I'd been withdrawing from conversations I had it in my head that I was dumb and couldn't really do anything. It certainly affected my confidence. All the teachers say I was very shy."
By his early teens, Willis discovered he could express himself in other ways.
"In my first year at [Tauranga Boys] high school I just had no confidence, but I realised I was good at sport. I started rowing and did well there. I was large and quite athletic and got a lot of confidence from that. I think, in a way, sport was my saviour.Through sport I was able to build my confidence and claw my way back.
"That's what I try to encourage in other people who have the same issue. Everyone is good at something and if they can find that unique skill they can build themselves up from that."
A more recent breakthrough came in 2003 when, following 12 games for the All Blacks (1998-2002) and several seasons with Auckland and Waikato as well as their Super rugby franchises, Willis headed to Japan to play.
"I learned Japanese over there and that actually helped me. For me, I struggled with words that started with T and K and I would always avoid them, but when I started learning Japanese every second word started with a T or a K. I wasn't expecting that, but it really helped.
"I still have it now, but it only really comes on when I'm a little bit tired or really nervous. If I have been working really hard and I'm starting to stutter, it's a wee warning that I need a break."
Willis, who returned to New Zealand two years ago and is about to begin his second year of study for a degree in physiotherapy in Auckland, says age has helped, too.
"As a teenager, you are really concerned about your self-image, but as I get older I don't really care as much. My personal strategy would be to stop and have another crack at it, to try breathing control.
"I have had it all the way through. I would go to a speech therapist and I would walk in and talk perfectly. Apparently, as a child, that is common because you go in there and know you're only in there for 10 minutes so you just concentrate really hard and you can pull it off.
"Nowadays, what the Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust and other language organisations do is send the kid home and get the parents to record the child speaking and catch it that way."
That approach is part of a treatment known as the Lidcombe Program. Developed by Australian Mark Onslow, regarded as a world leader in stuttering research, it is used widely in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere and has been shown to eliminate or reduce stuttering to very low levels.
"It is a behavioural treatment approach," Forman explains. "We praise children for using `smooth' talking and discuss `smooth' versus `bumpy' talking. The major focus is on positive reinforcement of the smooth talking and the occasional correction of the bumpy talking.
"It might sound a bit too simple - and some parents think it is - but it has a really high success rate."
By rewarding the good talking, the methodology attempts to make a new circuit in the brain, rerouting aspects of our language-processing faculties. Imagine a well-worn path through long grass, a track that traverses rough terrain; forge a new path over smoother ground and the problematic one will become overgrown, disused.
The key, Forman says, is dealing with the problem when a child is young.
"Our biggest message is early intervention. About 5% of preschoolers, those between the ages of 2 and 4, will go through a period of stuttering, maybe for weeks or months, and about 75%-85% of those will naturally recover."
Forman says that recovery rate can mask the very real problems faced by some.
"There are a lot of well-meaning people out there, family members, even some doctors, nurses or teachers who say, `Don't worry about it; my child did that and they'll grow out of it'. That is true to a point, but there are a percentage of children who won't grow out of it and they are the ones we want to identify and treat so they won't go on to be an adult who stutters.
"Research shows that if we can catch children early enough and treat them, then we can get rid of the stuttering. As children get older and become more aware, perhaps towards the ages of 9, 10 and 11, then they become more anxious. A whole set of other issues come into play when they get older.
"You don't tend to get a lot of bullying and teasing with preschoolers but, certainly, once children reach school age, that kicks in. There is a lot of research to show that children who stutter are at much more risk of teasing and bullying."
With 15 years' experience in dealing with stuttering, Forman has witnessed its impact both on children and their families.
"Understandably, people ring me quite upset about their child stuttering.
"A bright, verbal child can go from being chatty to getting stuck on every word in a sentence. That makes for huge anxiety and huge frustration. When we get to the end of the treatment where it has been successful, the parents are incredibly grateful. "That's one of the reasons I like working in this area - it is very successful and you are making a huge difference to the lives of kids and their families."
What is stuttering?
Stuttering is a disorder of speech that consists of some or all of the following:
1. repetitions of sounds, syllables, and/or words: eg, "b-b-b but it's my turn", "can, can, can I be next?".
2. prolongations: e.g., "that fffffffish is swimming".
3. blocks: e.g., "I . . . I like vanilla".
How many people stutter?
Approximately 5% of children will stutter at some time. Most will overcome it with or without help; about 1% may continue to stutter into adulthood. It is found in all groups throughout society and throughout the world. Many famous names are associated with the problem, including Moses, King George VI, singer-songwriter Carly Simon and comedian-actor Rowan Atkinson.
When does stuttering begin?
Stuttering usually begins between 2 and 4 years of age. In many cases, stuttering will emerge when children begin to put words together in short sentences. The onset of stuttering may be gradual or sudden with some children going to bed speaking fluently and waking the next morning stuttering quite severely.
Does stuttering disappear on its own?
Yes, many children naturally recover from stuttering. It appears the highest chance of recovery is soon after onset. A history of natural recovery in the family may also slightly increase the chances of the child naturally recovering.
Is there a cure?
There is no known cure for stuttering. However, there are a variety of treatments available for children and adults who stutter. The best results are achieved when the stuttering is treated early.
Does stuttering get worse when a person is nervous?
In times of excitement or nervousness, stuttering increases. This is not because those emotions cause stuttering, but they do make it worse.
What should I do when listening to someone who stutters?
Be patient and appear unhurried. Show interest in what is being said rather than how it is being said.
Keep normal eye contact while the person who stutters is speaking. In general it is better not to finish their words and sentences for them.
Why do more boys than girls stutter?
There is no clear answer to this, but boys are often more vulnerable to speech and language problems generally. Generally, they often seem quicker in their physical development than in their talking. Some research also suggests that more girls grow out of the problem than boys.
Sources: The Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust/The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children.
