Being articulate

First, think straight. Understand your own thinking. Imagine the argument or your question for others in your head first.

In other words, know what your point actually is before you start verbalising the point.

Avoid apologising for having an opinion, especially a potentially unpopular opinion, especially before you've even stated the opinion. Similarly avoid front loading with caveats. Avoid aiming for everyone to agree with you. Avoid aiming for a mic drop moment where everyone agrees wholeheartedly that you are a genius who has this nailed at last. In a debate consensus is mostly bloody annoying.

Google persuasive writing and speaking.

I am prone to thinking aloud so if my audience (usually work related) will have limited attention (almost always) I make sure I start with the conclusion, i.e. my actual point in one or two sentences. Then embellish with layers of logic, then if there's time and anyone cares how I came to that thinking.

Mostly I go for stating the conclusion with the briefest outline of the logic then await questions and responses before deciding on the next thing to say.

Practice makes perfect.

Also, practise! Practice makes perfect, or improvement anyway. Those articulate people you hear in meetings who seem to be able to talk in paragraphs are probably saying something they've said many times before in other places. Meetings are generally welcoming and forgiving to people unused to speaking.

And if you say something here on MN, blink and it's three pages back, so don't worry about it.

Your post, btw, is crystal clear.

I would echo just having a go and contributing. The benefit of MN in particular is that you can always name change and start again if you really feel you need to. Which I'm sure you won't.

I've had my 'I wonder' ideas summed up in a way I'd have liked to have done (but didn't) and with apposite quotes.

Some very sharp minds here, and people don't have a go if you try to share your thoughts in good faith so I wouldn't worry about chipping in.

Edit edit and edit. I make no sense at all first time round, and often never achieve it.

I would say: don't prevaricate.

Introduce the topic that's on your mind as a kind of unfinished starter for ten and see if someone picks it up and runs with it.

I largely don’t make sense, but I don’t let that hold me back. The worst comes to the worst, you’ve written something, move on..