Poll: Are you a better writer or talker?

[DudleyGarrett]

I think the subject says it all, but let me clarify for clarity's sake.

What I'm getting at is, where are you more successful in conveying your point?

Are you considered engaging or a good interlocutor or, do you save your thoughts for the written word where you're either overwhelmed by anxiety and without the need for wit?

Me, I'm better in oral conversation than I'm a writer. I enjoy conversation a great deal: the give, the take, the pauses, etc.

[eleanorigby]

I am much better on paper.

[Justin Credible]

About equal.

Equally bad that is! Mwahaha.

No, really, I'm much better in writing. I feel like I have much more time to think and get my real point across. When I'm talking to someone, especially someone I don't know, my mind often just goes on auto-pilot and I don't even realize until later what I just said. I guess having an oral fixation doesn't carry over into speaking.

[Oakminster]

Doesn't make much difference to me. I can write a solid brief, and I can deliver an oral argument. I prefer oral presentation, because it allows the use of performance skills and charisma that doesn't come across in writing.

[Sublight]

Good enough to get paid for both, but I definitely feel more comfortable putting my thoughts down on paper first.

[Helen's Eidolon]

I feel I'm much better at getting my point across in writing. I like to think I'm not a complete moron when I'm speaking, but the structure that writing allows (lists, revision, etc.) means that I do a better job forming my own thoughts, which helps to express them clearly.

Obviously, the above paragraph is incomprehensible. Maybe you should pretend I never posted.

[runner pat]

Neither. I have the words in my head but they don't come out as I want verbally or written.

[olivesmarch4th]

I feel like an absolute idiot when I speak. I am a much better writer.

[nikonikosuru]

Writing.

When I talk I get really shy around people I don't know so I'm sure it sounds awkward. When giving speeches around people I don't know I tend to speed up a lot.

[Sir T-Cups]

Talking, hands down.

My grammar is atrocious, and I am WAY too comma happy. When I am trying to write pretty much anything I just comma the crap out of it and call it a day.

Boy I'm bad at it.

[RealityChuck]

I'm OK as a talker (the bigger the audience, the better I am), but I'm better as a writer.

[EpicNonsense]

What I'm getting at is, where are you more successful in conveying your point?

I'd say it's about equal. Though, the verbal side may have a slight advantage.

I do find myself more talkative or "typative" (yes, I just made that up) when online, but I usually never get my point across as well.

[Muffin]

I write far better than I talk.

Come to think of it, I ski better than I walk.

[Stauderhorse]

I'm a much, much better writer than a speaker. It's probably because writing gives you a chance to get your thoughts all out in a coherent manner and you have an opportunity to say exactly what you want. When I'm talking to someone, I feel like I have to get my point across quickly, just in case the person listening is bored or has stopped paying attention. Consequently, I might stumble over words or utter some hurried, half-assed idea. Sometimes I wish I could pause a conversation so I could have more time to think.

[trapezoidal jellyfish]

Writing, no question about it, in any language I know. It just comes out better. In fact, my most intense relationships developed through instant messaging, even with people I saw and spoke to every day.

[Scarlett67]

Writing, definitely. I can sound pretty lame when speaking extemporaneously. And I even get paid to make other people's writing better! (The ability to revise is a wonderful, wonderful thing.)

[berff]

90% of my job involves writing, yet I usually prefer talking rather than typing everything out if I have the choice. Usually when I write, I'm constantly revising sentences and changing words around trying to find the clearest way to get my point across with the fewest words possible. But I can communicate my thoughts much more clearly in a fraction of the time when I just speak to someone directly.

[Siam Sam]

Better at getting my point across by writing. Especially these days, in my advanced addlemindedness, the brain synapses often can no longer call up facts and figures on command. Writing takes longer, so I have time to conduct a little research.

[panache45]

I'm a better writer, only because I can go back and edit.

[Vox Imperatoris]

Writing. When I talk, I tend to, ah, you know, what's-the-word...

Valete,
Vox Imperatoris

[Quasimodal]

Writing for sure, I have a hard time thinking on my feet.

[Boyo Jim]

Depends. If I'm relaxed, I'm very good at conversation.. If I'm stressed, my verbal skills drop -- a lot.

[Mudshark]

Talker. When I write, I have to think about what I want to say more than if I just say it as I go along.

[Cider Depot]

Me better write

[WormTheRed]

Talking, by far! When talking I get to make stuff up on the fly, but when writing I can backtrack and start questioning myself, which usually turns out worse for me.

And for languages I'm not fluent in, I can usually "hide" my bad grammar with a good accent.

[Kobal2]

I can't talk. I really um... what was I saying ? Ah yes : writing prose comes um easier to... well it's like when you have this err image, or maybe picture, or... in your head and you try to describe it and it's gone before... anyway, the point is : yes.

[CairoCarol]

I get too nervous to talk well.

[Sophistry and Illusion]

I'm a pretty good talker, mostly because I've had years of practice in the classroom. (I kinda sucked at first.) But I'm a much better writer.

[MichaelJohnBertrand]

Hmmm, it's a close call with me, complicated a little by how much time I spend talking to people via IM and other text based systems, which IMHO is a mix between the two. Text-talking is not like writing prose, where you have as much time as you want to revise, edit, rewrite, etc. There's still conversation pressure, though not as much.

I'd have to say I come off better in the written word, though. In regular conversation, I'm quite witty and sometimes even quite charming, but, as much as I absolutely love conversation (to me, interesting conversation is a nutritional need), I am subject to social anxiety in realtime, whereas on the Net, I am not.

[Suse]

I'm not very good at either but I prefer writing because I can edit until I'm at least close to what I want to say.

[Annie-Xmas]

Much better writer.

[Nava]

I'm equally good or bad at both; the advantage of the written form is that there's a permanent record (I can give the manual to whomever needs it, rather than go through the same explanation again); the advantage of the spoken form is the immediacy of the response (if I'm not explaining something clearly, I can try to correct it straight away; if it's an exam, I can read the teacher's face to know how am I doing).

I tend to prefer writing but that's my preference, it's not because I think I express myself better in writing. I make a point of trying to write like I speak and hate people who think that putting something in writing means they should break out the Beeg Focaboolarye.

[Napier]

Writer.

In person, I'm actually worse than I am here.

[Omegaman]

Talker. Proximity is the key.

Motivational consultations are my specialty.