Arduous translation of thought into the spoken word

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With just a computer and an idea, I could probably write a good essay on any subject.

Yet, in conversation with friends and acquaintences, it seems very difficult for me to come up with the right words to express a thought, and sometimes I use the wrong words, often giving the wrong impression.

Sometimes, I can be ambiguous in what I say, and sometimes, I interpret what someone says in another sense than the one in which they mean.

Is this just anxiety getting to me? Does anyone with Asperger's recognize this in themselves?

I find it hard to translate my ideas from my own mind into something intelligible to another person. Explaining things is difficult, but I can get around it by explaining whatever I want to say logically. It is often hard to word things properly, and I unwittingly repeat myself. I have been misunderstood many times.

I've typed something, handed it to a friend, and said "read this." I've got a much better chance of getting my ideas down in a coherent way, or conveyed in a coherent way, with a computer than with spoken word. (Same deal with a computer versus a pen and paper, my hadnwriting's horrible, though that's different reasons alltogether.)

Typing gives you the time to think more about what you're writing, make fast revisions, that kind of thing. There's no auto-correct feature available for verbal communication. Damn, would that be a money-maker.

Xon, what you said sums the way I feel up perfectly. I too suffer from social anxiety so I dont know if that contributes to the problem. Academically I have always been a high achiever. I can replicate my knowledge in a coherent, sophisticated way through written word, but there is some mental block that prevents me from speaking whats in my mind.

I suffer from this in general conversation also. I "practise" conversations and how they will pan out in my head and they seem coherent enough when i do this, but again this all falls apart when I talk to someone and I end up stammering, pausing alot and confusing people.

I completely agree with that.

As well I find that I am able to more eloquently express myself in the written word rather than the spoken. At least for the most part - there are probably two exceptions:

1. When I talk about factual knowledge or philosophical knowledge.
2. At random unannounced intervals where, having been brought into a NT social situation, I am able to verbalize slightly better than average.

I also agree with BenJ concerning practising conversations in your head. Social success by my definition is partially when your conversations in real life match the eloquence of what you've "practised" or "simulated" in your mind.

Same here.

I rehearse my conversations in my head. A sentance i say several times in my head first.

I cant seem to get thoughts out of my mouth without sounding dumb, but when i write I sound alot smarter.

What I find difficult is the translating of my mental language- the English I'm writing now- into adolescent slang. I actually kind of enjoy it though; it's like learning a foreign language.

This is why I'm so quiet. I don't talk much because it can be so difficult/take so much energy to express myself clearly. I've discovered, though, that the issue isn't just talking - it's that I'm no good with real-time communication. Chatting online is almost as bad as talking. As much as I love the idea of chatting on MSN or whatever, other communication like email (anything that's not happening in real-time) is so much better. I need time to think about what I want to say... write it, rewrite it, add, edit... it can take a long time before my thought process is completely finished. I end up going back and editing almost all of my forum posts because I think of something else I wanted to say or I think of a clearer way of saying something. (Usually I only bother editing if no one else has posted yet so the edit doesn't show up at the bottom of the post.)

I find it's alright, I can keep up with the flow of conversation unless it involves doubletalk (hidden meanings). It's alright in writing(though i prefer not too do it), but i think due to the Aspie brain not being good at multitasking i start to really struggle if a conversation is on that level when talking. I start slowing down and trailing off sentences.

I either stutter a lot and ramble incoherently, or I sound like I'm reading straight out of a textbook. Expressing thoughts clearly is not my forte.

I have the same problem.

I think my writing is nearly as bad as my speaking. My writing is usually conceptually dense but incoherent and usually seems to read like a string of non sequiturs. I think that something will make a logical argument, but the squence is all jumbed. So, my social problems aren't much better online than they are IRL.

I communicate far better in writing than I do when speaking. I have a good vocabulary and can discuss academic subjects, but I am terrible in social situations. I find myself unable to master the art of just talking about "nothing."

I end up saying the most asinine things or I won't be able to pronounce words correctly. Haha, for the most part writing is ok. I used to keep a blog but I felt that that was a chore and stopped. With talking in real life I do find myself saying things that are nonsense. And talking on the phone is like a torture from the devil himself. Though in groups I usually have at least one good friend there and when I get stuck on a word I can turn to him and he usually has the right term.