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Do you communicate better through writing or speech?

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ClayKavalier

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When I was younger I loved writing. All through high school I planned on majoring in English, I wrote poetry all the time, I wrote reviews of books and games and movies, I wrote stories, I basically wrote every day. I was really proud of my writing and really enjoyed communicating through mail or notes or MySpace because it gave me time to carefully write something funny or smart or whatever.

I switched majors while in college though and really haven't done much writing in years. Nowadays if I'm trying to do something like communicate with a coworker over email it'll pretty quickly get to the point where I struggle getting across exactly what I mean and I'll replay "Screw it, I'm walking over to your office."

Kind of bums me out that I've lost a skill I used to be proud of, but on the other hand I can still write decently and I've gotten better at talking to people, which seems to be a way handier skill.
 
Speech. I live language it's my thing but I have a learning disability that screws with both talking(slight lisp that is mostly gone but on occasion slips out and a few words that leave my brain one way but come out my mouth another) and writing(it's just all messed up).

The speech I can get around the writing not so much, and it shows.
 
Writing, without a doubt. When I'm speaking, I know what I want to say, but I never actually get it out right. When writing, you can stop, read your message/post through, correct any mistakes, make sure it makes sense, etc. But when you're talking face to face with someone, your 'messages' are on the spot and spontaneous. That's where I panic, because I don't think things through, and speak without actually engaging my brain. More times than not, I end up sounding absolutely stupid, so I try to keep myself to myself. As such, I'm often mistaken for being an unsociable bastard when, in reality, I just don't want to sound dumb.
 
Terrbible at both. But at least with writing I can prepare and read back over.

Can't exactly say something then a couple hours later call back and say "I HAVE AN AMMENDNENT TO MY PREVIOUS STATEMENTS"

Also, umm, its fun to hesitate in text but an absolute embarrassment IRL
 
It depends. When I'm being passionate, or I really want to convey the emotion behind my words I prefer speech. Some things are better heard than read. If I'm trying to be very articulate about a point I prefer writing--but both can often be stream of consciousness things.
 
Through writing probably, but I tend to be excessively ironic while just assuming people are going to get it (it doesn't always works out).

I also have a hard time revising what I wrote, my spelling sucks and I skip words or write the same word twice. I always have to edit my posts many times for example(too bad I can't edit emails).

When talking I plain suck, communicating anything more complicated is a struggle. I'm also excessively self aware of my social interactions to the point it gets in the way of communicating what I want.
 
Speech. My writings are too convoluted and while I'm not super clear while taking I get a much better idea whether or not people understand me. It flows much better as well while I'm always stopping and rewriting stuff in writings.

In school I'd always do much better at oral exams. Fitted my workflow much better because I'd just read a bunch about the material and write some short notes.
 
Writing, though you probably couldn't tell from my average post on GAF. It gives me time to consider everything I'm going to say before the audience receives the message. In speech, you've got to think on your feet more. You can't plan so far ahead.
 
Asking a forum is gonna probably yield one-sided answers.

I kinda dig both for reasons. I can articulate better online, but I can shmooz and relate better in person.
 
In most cases, through writing. It might sound arrogant, but I always strive to be both thorough and concise. This usually takes more time than most people have the patience for in spoken conversation. If I find the topic interesting or important enough, and I'm in a circumstance where I can actually speak freely, then I can generally quickly produce a message I'm happy with. Unfortunately, the topic is often mundane, and the circumstances are often restricting.
 
I've found I'm far more vocal when I write if that makes any sense. Typically I speak up and express my opinion more when writing, especially in forums/chatrooms, as opposed to speech where I'm much more reserved. Writing also has the bonus of being able to go back and fix your mistakes and makes it easier to clarify something, although it's much harder to convey jokes, sympathy, and to read a person's emotions if you don't know them very well online.

Pretty sure this is because during my teenage years I hard a terrible time with social anxiety and I found comfort making friends online as opposed to in person. It was how I communicated with others for years and it always just kind of stuck with me.

Although now it's more Writing > Speech where in Jr. High and High school it was Writing >>>>> Speech. Writing has its' benefits but I enjoy being with my friends in person.
 
Writing. Sometimes I'll leave a voice mail for a co-worker, and they email me back and I see one of those auto-transcripts of what I said in the voice mail, and I'm forced to face the fact that apparently I speak like a cro-magnon on four hits of acid.
 
Speech has tone/prosody.

But writing lets you choose your words more deliberately.

I think I communicate well through both, but if I'm trying to present an argument I haven't fully developed already, then talking about it will probably be a disaster.

So I guess speech for social communication, and writing for argumentation. But I think that is stating the obvious.
 
Been told I'm very articulate and well spoken. Writing... not so much. Grammer isnt a strong point for me and writing gives me too much time to second guess myself. I'll usually re write stuff a few times before committing.
 
If you mean when I'm trying to convey a point, writing

However, my grammar is quite atrocious and it may cause my point to be conveyed differently than what I intended, so yeah...
 
Depends on the scenario. If I'm looking to convey a nuanced idea or plan, I need to write it out but if I'm trying to explain something then there is no substitute for the visual part of communicating. I can tell a whole lot through someone else's body language to see if they are understanding what I'm trying to say.
 
I mean, sometimes I literally script my phone calls beforehand, so that should give you an idea of the quality of my verbal communication skills.
 
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