I think so, but I was more thinking about what people actually do when you tell them "write like you speak." Most people I've seen then proceed to dump stuff on

I think so, but I was more thinking about what people actually do when you tell them "write like you speak." Most people I've seen then proceed to dump stuff onto the page and it's even worse. The advantage of reading it out loud is (I'm guessing) that you process it with a different part of your brain. When you just read it, the words are your own and you don't process it the same way, whereas when you hear it the words in a sense sound external and it is easier to hear where it sounds awkward.