Answering Questions without preparation

Thank you for the suggestion although I am not sure I could do that.

Yes I can find this difficult. Especially in a situation when it matters. At my autism diagnosis I was fine because it had all been discussed at the pre-diagnosis, for which I had been sent the questions and written reams. But at the end he asked me if there were any accommodations I wanted and i was thrown for a loop because I was tired and hadn't expected it. I blethered something about having trouble accessing health services and would prefer email, and tried to say something about my problems with their attitude to me having to have blood tests, but I didn't say it right and now could have done with my diagnosis saying something like that I need more autonomy in things like blood tests as they have just sent me this year's and it says they want me to have it a specific week! It usually just has to be done before I have to order my next meds which gives me a couple of months, and is triggering my demand avoidance! So I have just sent them an email, hope they respond and favourably...

I am bad at favourites. I either don't have any or I have more than one. And part of me kind of feels bad about having favourites!

Oh Debbie, that could so easily have been me.

But I'd rather trip over telling the truth than get caught out in a lie.

Ben

Martin said:

dumb or honorable?

Exactly.

Job interviews just invite you to lie and in fact it's difficult to get through one by telling the truth (in my experience)...

Homebird said:

Interviews are difficult because I can never think of examples on the spot.

Some employers if asked, allow people on the spectrumto see the interview question sin advance.

I have been in similar situations. I have thought of two alternative responses to a question, knowing that the truthful one would shoot me in the foot, and still gone for the truth; dumb or honorable?

Yes.

I'm  hopeless at interviews and have a worrying tendency to tell the/my truth.

I've recounted this before, but it is funny.

I went for an interview at an Anglican Cathedral and I was asked:

'What do you think the Church means to most people in society today' and I replied:

'I think it's irrelevant to most people'.

I am also completely unable to sell myself.

Any question puts me on the spot, especially if they involve memory.

I struggle too as feel the need to give "the right" answer and with such open questions my brain whirrs at 100mph with all the different possibilities trying to grasp at one. "How's work? How are you? Why are you vegetarian?" And the worst one...."Tell me a little about yourself". Ive learned in informal situations often it's conversation starters so it doesn't technically matter what you answer with. Often it is difficult processing the thoughts and forming a coherent answer. Prep a script for formal situations. I was asked the other week what my favourite book was to which I said something like "Fact or fiction? Out of all the books in the world,  I need to have a think". 

Favourite song? Maybe the asker should have a bit more imagination.

Replying with something along the lines of. "That's an interesting question and deserves a detailed answer, let me think for a second." buys some time and flatters your interlocutor as well.

I do but feel as if it can be overcome by talking, the trick to those question is to just start talking, speed-talking if you will.. panic occurs when your actually trying to answer the question, when ironically the answer is to just start making noise with your face, thinking comes later..