Something I've never been that great at is spontaneous conversation. I'm more than capable of public speaking if I've prepared something in advance. But if someone asks me something out of the blue, I really struggle to engage in deep conversation. Afterwards I'll think to myself damn, why didn't I bring up X or Y?
Half the time I don't know what to add and I struggle to think of what to say. Sometimes words feel like they're on the tip of my tongue and I can't get them out, especially when I'm under pressure. And in group conversations, I find it hard to interject when I do think of a point. By the time a natural break comes along, the conversation has moved on.
I'd love to get better at this. What can I do to improve?
One thing I've learned, is to be comfortable with some silence, and taking a moment to think. I'll even announce "hang on, I need to put my words together right" and then just internally monologue my thoughts into order while the other person waits for me to speak again.
Usually, there is no rush, we just imagine others to be impatient and feel pressure for no real reason. But really, there's no reason a conversation requires words be spoken non-stop. In fact I've found that when I force these breaks, the other people participating use the time to do some silent thinking, too, and come back with more thought out things to say when the conversation resumes.
Especially if you find yourself more comfortable with texting, where you can lay out your sentences and edit them until they feel right, you might just need to learn to do the same thing face to face.