I often have a hard time speaking. Especially when addressing a topic I am not intimately familar with. When I'm involved in a problem solving conversation, I tend to stumble over my words. The solutions I devise usually come with caveats, and so I end up back at the problem stage. I then devise solutions for these problems, which (you guessed it) also have caveats of their own. The effect of this is that I end up saying something like "we could do A, but then we might have to deal with B and C, but B could be handled by doing D, but then that might necessitate E and possibly F if C involves G. C might be handled by doing H or I, but if we choose H, then G might be worse. I or J on the other hand might be against policy X or department Y would need to be involved. If they do ...". You get the point. But it's worse than that. In fact, I can't get out half of an idea before considering its repercussions, interrupting that idea to address the new one/s (and so on). The trouble is, often it's the process of voicing my thoughts that helps me unearth the considerations therein. The end result is a lot of blubbering that often ends in a sort of deadlock leaving me unable to suggest anything. Or at least it sounds that way. Basically a seemingly random vocal barrage ending in a question mark. Not terribly helpful.

Speaking quickly communicates to your listener that you are thinking quickly. It doesn't communicate your ideas.

Contrast this with when I feel confident about a topic or solution that I'd previously devised or am introducing. In that case, I've already done all the preprocessing. I want to share my considerations with my audience, thinking it will help make everybody smarter. You know, share the wealth. In this case, I speak clearly, but very very quickly. I don't want to be describing my solution for an hour but I do want to save them the trouble of asking questions for clarification. So in this case, a decidedly nonrandom vocal barrage ending in the silent assumption that you get my point in great detail. This is particularly frustrating to me. I feel incapable of organizing my thoughts, then succinctly voicing a summary. I understand that clear communication involves a managable tempo. Speaking quickly communicates to your listener that you are thinking quickly. It doesn't communicate your ideas. You're asking too much of them: keep up and absorb every word. I need to slow down. I need to not be cornered by nervous tension and succumb to the urge to perform. A coworker invited me to a Toastmasters meeting*Not because he noticed my inability to speak. He was just evangelizing. and I think I'll go. It starts a 6:40am and I live 40 minutes away. I'm not an early riser, but I think in this case, I'll give it a try. Have any other tips on organizing your thoughts and communicating clearly? Any techniques you've used that proved helpful in being understood?