[ii V I]

Grrrrrr. Yes I never end up sounding as articulate as I do in my head, or even on paper.
I recently was talking to a friend about this who is similar in this regard.
I'm such a perfectionist with my writing, at least when it comes to word selection and I want my speaking to be reflective of that too.
So, I end up stumbling and stuttering trying to grab hold of that perfect word to complete my expression.

[iinnffpp]

im not very articulate. ive gotten into a heap of trouble for a long time because i expressed myself the wrong way. now i have to rehearse a lot of things in my head before i say them. for some reason my brain likes for me to blurt out mental diarrhea that offends the entire world.

[under skies]

I definitely relate to a lot of the posts in this thread. When I'm communicating with people, I really want them to understand how I feel and what I mean to convey. However, I get tripped up a lot. I ramble, lose my train of thought, or fail to come up with the right words. Sometimes, if I get flustered enough, I stutter a little.

It's weird, though, because when I'm writing for myself, it's like the words come so effortlessly. I can write creatively or write papers for school and get through them quickly and with very little revision. It's only when face-to-face with others that I come off sounding like a blithering idiot.

My best guess as to why I am this way is that it's a combination of shyness and the fact that I'm much more visual than auditory.

[cheezey]

I've been told a few times I'm actually very articulate when speaking. I find it very odd to hear people say that because I never feel I'm anywhere near as articulate verbally as I can be with writing.

If I'm put on the spot, and I haven't had time to think about things before hand, I definitely feel that sense of I'm stumbling around in my head searching for the right words to convey what I actually am thinking. I suppose deep down I never feel like I'm doing my thoughts justice, and at times it can lead me slipping into something of a shame spiral. Damn perfectionist tendencies!!!

[Janey]

I have this problem, but I think it's a matter of practice and trying to prepare a lot beforehand if possible.

[vastcat]

It depends, when it comes to communicating I have two modes, listening mode and talking mode. When I'm in a situation where I have to switch between those two modes quickly I get overwhelmed. If I have to give a meeting, training, presentation or anything like that, I am a very good speaker. If I'm in a large group of people I sit towards the middle and turn on my listening mode and am part of several conversations at the same time, only speaking when something catches my interest or when a conversation needs a new direction. If you were to see it, you would think I'm an extreme extrovert since everybody is talking to me.

However, once I'm in a situation that requires me take a more active role by listening and speaking at the same time, I totally fall apart. There are only about 3 people I can hold a normal conversation with. I feel like that is my biggest obstacle in life. Almost every conversation and relation I have tends to be a long string of awkward and boring moments with the occasional extremely deep yet short lived connections that make it all worth while.

[brendog10]

I used to have a big problem with expressing myself. I would usually hold back from expressing anything, but on the occasions that I felt I should share I would have a hard time expressing what I really wanted to say. It seemed like I never had the words. Sometimes I would say something to the point and then wonder if I had given enough detail to explain myself.

I've read on this forum that INFP's tend to jump from point A to C in conversation. so that they assume that people understand there reasoning, Which most do not. I think I would often skip point A all together and just blurt out C. I've gotten better as I've gotten older and developed some extroversion. but I do occasionally find myself going blank in the middle of a conversation trying to find the right word.

the funny thing is that I have the habit of helping others in the same situation find the words they are looking for and find myself ending peoples sentences for them when they can't think of what they are trying to express.

[Hotspur]

It is actually the opposite case for me. When someone shows interest in what I have to say, I have no problem opening up and putting my thoughts together. Sometimes it can be tough to shut me up. If a thought isn't flowing like I want it to, I will pause and let it come together, sometimes even stating that I am trying to come up with the right words. I've been told that I am eloquent in my ability to express. I attribute this to pacing myself. I let the words come at the same speed as the thoughts, I don't rush it. A few years ago I was rushing and, for whatever reason, nervous in conversation. I found myself stuttering and messing up words. I decided to force myself to slow down in the middle of what I am saying. I don't like fillers such as "like" and "um" taking up space, so I would just slow my words down or take brief pauses as I spoke.

One thing I know for myself, my written word is not the same as my spoken word. I approach the two as being as different as riding a bike vs. riding a motorcycle. Similar, but different speeds, different safety levels, and different motors to get them going.

[JustARide]

I think it's definitely normal for INFPs. I think it's because we're thinking about so many different things and just kind of riding the wave of our thoughts, that we get distracted by thinking and lose focus on what we're saying. I find myself taking a really long time to describe something simple. Whenever this happens, I just laugh at myself, take a breath and summarize what I'm trying to say. It usually works. I've found that the less you focus on yourself and the more you focus on the people you're trying to talk to, you will find it easier to speak.

[rbt]

Sometimes words just can't describe my feelings, other times people just don't understand what I mean.