Is scripting out answers a form of masking?

No. it's being conscientious and polite. In my book of etiquette, anyway.

Try 3X5 cards with the salient points you want to express.

Wording should be a a bit fluid as it keeps one focused and prevents monologue-ing on tangents.

Which is my social skills-Achilles heel, anyway. Practice with a friend or family person beforehand to get the gist.

(It also stopped people looking at me )

By creating the portfolio (maybe even if you don’t use it), you’re creating a world of information that you’ve ordered physically and mentally. That’s how my brain likes it, anyway! Good luck!

Depending on the job interview, would a portfolio work? In my most successful interviews, I took an A1 portfolio of evidence that I could use to back up a number of likely questions. It included photos, charts, quotes from parents, examples of my marking style, etc.) For the first time in my life, I felt confident in the situation. (At one point, I forgot what I’d just been asked and admitted it - the deputy head blushed and said so had he! I felt so much better!) I got my last two jobs with this approach. I knew my material inside out and wasn’t worried that I’d forget it. When I was asked a question, I said things like, Can I show you this… I can give you an example of that… If you look at this, you’ll see…

I have 2 issues in interviews - remembering the question long enough to understand it and formulate the answer, and choosing the right information in my mind to say.

I haven't yet asked for the questions in advance (last interview was before diagnosis), so I usually write the question down, or at least as many words of it as I can remember and focus on it. If I don't know what the expectation is, I ask for clarification - e.g. tell them a number of scenarios I think might fit, and ask more detail about the specific thing they are after. Then I draw a mind map of things that are relevant. Once I put a number against the map to indicate the order to say them in, I'm ready to start talking.

I also have a number of small, business card sized mind maps for standard questions that I can refer to, and as I say them, or the key points/requirements of the job, I score them off my sheet of paper. That way, I keep from repeating too much between different questions.

If I don't do this, I waffle, go off on tangents, get distracted by other connections my mind is making as I speak, say the same thing over again, and tell them things that interest me rather than what they need to hear.

Martin said:

I think 'scripting' is more a facet of anxiety

Yes. Scripting is a chosen response to the anxiety of needing to reply to something.

For anything more complex than a regular interation it tends to work poorly though as trying to recall a long script from memory while anxious is a Herculean task and tends to make it sound more wooden than Pinoccios nose.

Hi Rish, My communication is full of scripting. I practice conversations in my head prior to any social situations including job interviews. I think this is part of masking but also learning how to communicate effectively due to my anxiety. Don't be discouraged. I have come a long way in the past 4 decades as you build a strong toolkit of social scenarios and responses. I journal to also reflect on what's gone well and what could be better. All the best!

I think 'scripting' is more a facet of anxiety, a way of ensuring that you are not stuck in front of people unable to say anything. If I am making a phone call I will write out the major things I want to say, just to avoid the embarrassment of becoming silent. In order to make off the cuff remarks, answer unexpected questions or present an unscripted seminar etc. one has to be relaxed and in social situations, or formal situations involving a number of people, most autistics are the opposite of relaxed!

Alienatedhuman said:

Here the main thing is knowing, what you want to say, but not learning the whole text

This is exactly the best way to do it.

When you read a rehersed script then it will always sound rehearsed and fake so don't waste effort on this.

Do as Alienatedhuman suggests - make your own bullet points to read on the fly during the interview to remind you of your talking points.

Another great tactic is to get someone to listen to you rehearse time and again (you may need to bribe them) until you stop making mistakes. It may take 5 attempts or 50 and it is best to not repeat exactly the same phrases so you get used to talking about them and really believe them.

This can be done virtually if it is more practical.

If you can do this on all the usual questions like "tell me about yourself", "why do you think you are a good fit for yourself", "where do you see yourself in 5 years time" and "tell me about a situaiton when you have to deal with a conflict at work" etc.

It’s quite much like preparing a presentation or speech or having some oral exam. Here the main thing is knowing, what you want to say, but not learning the whole text to know by heart word for word, it’s enough that the interviewer asks you a question and you gonna loose the track. Then you sound as if you were reading it. How I do it, I try to say it in my own different words, each time it goes more naturally. I also try doing it in front of a mirror to see myself. My issue is forgetting words very often. It can be any word, but there are some words that I forget most frequently. So I prepare a small sheet with points what is relevant I wanna say and also the words (with synonyms) that I’m gonna most probably forget. I’m not sure if this forgetting words during the speech is normal or not or if it’s just me or something to do with autism, but I definitely struggle with that and it gives me quite much anxiety, that I will forget a word. It stresses me out and also annoys.