Pre-Planned Scripts to Maintain Poise
Losing your flow in conversation can feel frustrating. To ease the pressure of explaining yourself in the moment, it helps to have some phrases ready to go when this happens, says Kobylarz.
Our experts gave these examples:
- “Give me a moment.”
- “It’s on the tip of my tongue.”
- “I know what I want to say, but I’m struggling to find the words.”
- “Give me a second, it’ll come to me.”
- “My brain hit the pause button.”
- “I’m sorry, my mind wandered off and I lost what I was about to say.”
- “I know the word, but I am just drawing a blank.”
- “My brain is taking a short break, please hold.”
Use whichever phrases feel the most authentic to you, says Kobylarz.
These comments tell your conversation partner that you need a moment to think, says Simon. “Having a quick phrase to use to ‘pause’ the conversation and allow yourself time can be helpful.”
Trying to remember a word fast can feel stressful, says Shannon Masella, a speech-language pathologist at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford, Connecticut. When you feel stressed or anxious, that actually makes it harder to remember a word because your brain is so busy managing your emotional response, she says.
Masella suggests focusing instead on anxiety-reducing strategies. “Take a deep breath when stuck, and use one of the phrases that helps lower the pressure in that word retrieval breakdown moment,” she says.
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