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Do you have trouble knowing when and how to participate in discussions in class?

I am mostly affected by this in English class, my English teacher even said, on my report card no less, that I should speak up more, but I don't know how. I always come in at the same time as someone else, probably because I totally miss the cues people give to speak with their body language. (I have trained myself to consciously read body language, but can't do it as effectively when I'm concentrating on classwork.) I have also made comments that people seem to think are non sequiturs, but for me, follow a perfectly logical train of thought.

Any similar experiences of advice?


--XSL

Sorry, I meant "or advice".

Typos are highly annoying.

--XSL

Does anyone at all understand you when you come out with your comments?

It is possible that the problem you're dealing with is due to a majority in your class having lower IQs, or a decreased capacity for following logical progression in discussions.
You could cut your words down to logical steps, from A to B, so they have the stepping stones provided to be able to follow you.

It isn't IQ, my classmates are all intelligent people, and I attend a selective academic school. I believe my thought processes on the topics we are discussing may be slightly different, causing the occasional disconnect. However, unfortunately, I have no way of proving or disproving this theory.

When the other members of the group are friends with each other, it's much harder to get a word in edgewise because they're used to talking back and forth between themselves and simply don't 'make space' for another voice. Or if one member makes him/herself the 'leader' of the group with a strong personality, he/she will essentially control the discussion and who participates in it. It's unfortunate that our difficulty in social skills occasionally hurts our academic performance, but in situations like these, it does. My only advice is to just keep trying. A good idea is a good idea, no matter who says it. Hopefully, when you have one, they'll listen.