Sounding scripted

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I was musing again...

I remember having trouble in social situations, not knowing what to say and literally practicing approaching someone.

I also remember my peers laughing and saying "you sound like your rehearsed that" - (which was quite embarrassing because they were absolutely correct )

I am pretty good at socializing now, I don't need to "rehearse" and can be spontaneous.

Sometimes though, I like to "get the words" if I am dealing with something particularly touchy. For example, at work, I was told that it is okay to go against what a manager asks if it related to my job (I'm a nurse and my clinical judgment can override that of a non-nurse manager in a clinical situation). This situation is very, very rare, but we were advised that we were to use our own clinical judgment and, if a non-nurse manager was trying to tell us to do an action which was against our clinical judgment - we were to diplomatically refuse to follow the non-nurse/medical instruction/order.

Now this is touchy - I would be in a position to be somewhat insubordinate (I say "somewhat" because in terms of clinical stuff - I am the authority - with consultation with my nurse in charge and nursing manager). On the other hand, the non-nurse manager is also an authority figure and I want to maintain a good, professional working relationship with them too.

I asked my nursing manager for the best words to use if this situation should ever arise. She looked at me in a peculiar way. I just advised that I this was an uncomfortable thing for me to do (should it ever arise) and I didn't want to add to my own discomfort by stammering in front of a non-nurse administrator. I demonstrated by uttering a somewhat awkward thing. My nursing manager might have still thought I was a little flakey, but helped me form some good words. Here is what we came up with "I appreciate your input and will keep your concerns in mind, however, in my clinical judgment I will proceed with x, y and z. If you have any concerns, I would be happy to discuss them with you and my nursing manager at our earliest convenience." Ahhh, nice and professional, no stepping on toes and everybody feels validated.

This was the only time in the last ten years or so when I had trouble with word finding. I am usually pretty good at it (after lots and lots of practice) and I try to help others out on WP by giving some examples of what to say in various situations.

Has anyone else ever sounded scripted? Has anyone else ever found that, through practice, they became better and better at spontaneously conversing (professionally and socially)?

I perpetually sound scripted, especially when I quote things or people, and I'm okay with that. If it means I can get the words out as opposed to not, I'll take the scripting.

Considering my social issues, I believe it is about time to employ some scripted behavior.

I'd rather sound scripted, than sound like a bimbo.

Sounding scripted isn't such a bad thing. It might make some people awkward and can be inappropriate in some jobs. For instance if I get a sales call and it sounds very scripted I feel extremely uncomfortable. I feel that the person can't talk to me as a person and probably has some script that is designed to make a lousy product sound really great without breaking the law so they have to use very precise wording. I actually once had a job like that and quit because of the scripting.

So, if you sound scripted, there may be some rare situations to avoid or jobs you might not do so well, but for all practical purposes sounding scripted is a far better choice than not sharing your thoughts, doing your job or being accidentally rude. It may lead to improving social skills but even if it doesn't I'm just glad you can get the words out! I think everybody has something to say that's worth hearing and would hate to loose that over something as inappropriate as stilted speech.