I know that a lot of us make up scripts/formulas for remembering social skills, things like greetings, the conversation small-talk, ending conversations, and such.  I know that some of us can get really good at these scripts, so it appears that we have pretty good social skills, when in reality, we're acting. 

I've also found scripts helpful for when I'm having trouble initiating contact, especially in new and scary situations. For me, this is especially especially true for calling up strangers, service providers, and people in authority.  I tend to freeze up just thinking about picking up the phone.

What I do is write out what I want to say, in sentence form, and have the paper in front of me when I call.  Even if the call doesn't go completely according to plan, I at least have the points that I need to make and information right at hand. 

I usually approach it like an email or letter: I explain who I am, a quick explanation on the situation, and the specifics of why I'm calling. 

For example, calling the doctor: My name, I need to make an appointment, preferrably in the afternoons in the next week. 

Or, the one time I've had to call the police: Who I am, where I am, I just spotted what looks like either a fox or a cayote in my backyard heading for the school across the street, is there anything I should do/anyone to call about it?

Or, calling my worker at the Ontario Disability Support Program: my name, I've got two letters in the mail about my request for funding for some medical equipment, the one letter says that I was approved, but the other letter says that I was rejected, plus the medical provider has billed me directly; what's going on?

Having the information in front of my, I can fall back to my individualized scripts, focus on it, and get around/disassociate myself from my anxiety.  It still sometimes takes me a while to get to the point of writing the script, but having it makes things easier to pick up the phone. 

Anyone else has other uses for making scripts?