Why Can't I Say What I Mean?

You're in a meeting. Someone asks you a question. All eyes are on you.

30 seconds ago you know what you were going to say.

20 seconds ago your brain was getting ready to answer the question and 5 seconds ago your brain just went blank.

Although science has answered why this may happen, it doesn't really help you in the meeting.

What's going on? I had the answer to the question in my brain and it was amazing. Everyone would have cheered and laughed and cried and clapped. But the garbage that's coming out of my mouth as I answer this question is not what I was expecting.

The next time someone asks you a question, is the same thing going to happen? Probably.

So what can you do?

Think about what you're going to say

Try to be focused on the speaker instead of yourself as much as possible

You might need to work on your listening skills and focus on what the other person saying instead of letting your mind run a thousand miles an hour while someone else is talking and you wait for your turn to speak.

Pause before you speak. Sometimes just letting the words come out immediately makes it difficult for people to understand you.

Try to speak simply. Sometimes using a lot of words or intelligent sounding words causes us trouble.

You're going to make mistakes. Make the mistakes and move on.

Keep trying. Practice!