ABSTRACT
There are, however, still elements of unpredictability in speech production. When you start speaking you don’t always know what you’re going to end up saying. Next time you have a conversation with someone, spend some effort on trying to work out what you’re doing while talking. How far do you plan ahead when you’re speaking? I find it’s quite variable, and depends on the context. In a very formal situation – such as when I’m introducing a speaker, or making an important announcement to a class – I might prepare every word before I start speaking. (I then might have difficulty remembering what I’d planned to say, and might still mix up my carefully prepared words.) In an informal conversation over coffee, I might start speaking with no conscious idea of how I’m going to end up. And after a few drinks . . . Most of the time it’s in between: I have some idea about what I’m going to say, I know how I’m going to start, but I don’t always know the details of the wording at the end of what I want to say.
