When you're put on the spot to talk and you're struggling to articulate yourself, it's perfectly fine to take a short pause to collect your thoughts. And the 3 magic words I think of next is... THE ONE THING - This forces my brain to focus on just one thing to share instead of blurting out the messiness of my mind. And continue with a slow rate of speech. This not only calms your nerves, it shows people that you're being very considerate of your response. What do you think?