<p>Very few people can speak as well as they write (assuming that they’re good writers).
For, when you write, it is easier to go back and polish what you have said… and this is not so with speaking. </p>
<p>Yet, have you ever met someone whom you suspect probably speaks as well as he/she writes? If so, how do you suppose that that person attained such a high-level of written & oral proficiency?</p>
<p>Lots of reading and writing?</p>
<p>My husband does. It’s what he does for a living, but from what his lifelong friends have said, he has a way had a way with words. He’s been on-air, behind the scene, a reporter, a political writer, etc. He also has a degree in communications, among others, which included both spoken and written practice. In addition, he has extensive education in research, so yeah, he can shut down a room on almost any topic. I’m much better at writing than speaking, but our D seems to have inherited his multiple talents. I think a person probably has a natural ability to some extent, but can enhance and fine-tune it with education.</p>
<p>I was really impressed recently by cultural anthropologist Wade Davis, a Harvard educated author and now a professor at UBC. His ability to weave multiple threads together all leading to the same point astounded me.</p>
<p>My husband does also. And my son and daughter seem to have followed suit. Great at both.
My theory is that extensive writing and editing (a lot!) makes you more aware of the words you are speaking. I think the brain starts to self edit. The “think before you say it” wisdom is very much enhanced.</p>
<p>I think George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK is such a person. I have read articles written by him and while they are very impressive, his public speaking is mesmerizing. Saw him interviewed recently and honestly the guy should be in the running for Prime Minister for his public speaking skills alone.</p>
<p>What does speaking well mean?
Does it mean being clear and concise, or does it mean being loquacious and verbose?
I enjoy listening to the verbose, but I lose my patience reading it.</p>
<p>I don’t know that I agree that most people write better than they speak. An awful lot of people have trouble with punctuation, spelling, paragraph breaks, etc. I actually think it is the other way around.</p>
<p>I don’t think that people communicate more effectively in writing, either.</p>
<p>I write for a living, but even in the communications department where I work, people will talk to each other in person or on the phone because a topic seems “too complicated” to discuss by e-mail. I never see people send e-mails because a topic seemed “too complicated” for oral communication. </p>
<p>I do, and it’s a bad thing. My overly formal speech alienates people. It was actually a factor in my autism diagnosis. I don’t think speaking as well as you write (if you are a good writer) is a desirable thing unless you reserve it for very, very rare circumstances… and I try really hard to dumb down my speech and I still catch people giving me odd looks when I’ve used a word or turn of phrase that was too much for the conversation or the person I was speaking to. </p>
<p>I read a lot, and I find when I read a lot both my writing and speech become more “sophisticated” than when I am not reading as much. I adopt words and phrases and mannerisms from what I’ve read recently.</p>
<p>I would like to learn to speak more casually. I seem to manage writing casually on forums just fine! But the language I use in forums isn’t the same language I use any other time. </p>
<p>I send emails because a topic is “too complicated” for oral communication, though, but I am the only one at work that does this and nobody seems to appreciate it when I do it. I hate trying to explain something really complicated over the phone. But people are too lazy to read an email that is more than two lines, so I have to adjust. I am training a girl overseas right now and it’s the best thing ever because with the time difference we have no choice but to do all of our communication over email… I trained her over email in two weeks what takes my team 6 months to train in person. </p>
<p>There are some great lawyers who are fabulous at this. Ted Olson (former solicitor general) is one of the best I ever saw. He speaks without notes, in complete paragraphs, without ever saying “Um,” and yet without sounding rehearsed or memorized, AND without sounding like he’s talking down to you. Phenomenal orator. I wish I had gotten to see him at an appellate argument.</p>
<p>Yes, I have seen and known many talented people who speak and write exceptionally well. Many higher military officers and attorneys are among them. It is a treat to listen to great speakers and read well-written pieces (which sadly are increasingly rare). I especially like concise, witty voices that add a fresh viewpoint and explain things well without oversimplifying or boring the audience. It is a great art. </p>
<p>Both my father (a lawyer) and my mother (a reading specialist.) They are both big New Yorker readers, too - which, imo, has something to do with it. My son, also. His grammar is excellent and he is always correcting me! He would correct other people if I hadn’t stressed it’s boorish to do. His writing is also excellent, imo. </p>
<p>OTOH, my writing is far superior to my speaking - but my MO has always been to get it all down on paper first and then edit the heck out of it. I can’t write any other way. I would work on editing my academic papers for days, sometimes weeks, constantly revising to make it extremely concise (and grammatically perfect.) I hate verbosity. </p>
<p>Obviously, I use the method of just getting it all out - any which way - when writing on internet message board! </p>
<p>I wonder whether some important skills have been lost now that professionals no longer dictate to stenographers.</p>
<p>There was a time when people formulated letters or memos in their heads and dictated them rather than writing (and editing) them. I can’t even imagine the mental processes that would have made this possible. (But then, I earn my living writing and editing. I can’t think without a keyboard in front of me.)</p>
<p>^Marion, - that is how my father worked at the office. He dictated everything and needed 3 secretaries to type everything up. </p>
<p>I also cannot think without a keyboard in front of me and it got worse once I had a computer. I could still do handwritten first draft when all I had was a typewriter. </p>
<p>I know lots of people who speak poorly and write poorly so … yes. </p>
<p>@HarvestMoon1 the thought of having George Osborne as Prime Minister is enough to make most people want to jump off a cliff </p>
<p>^^^^^</p>
<p>Really, why is that? Must admit I am biased and have a bit of a “crush” on him.</p>
<p>@Boomting, you are so right!</p>