By “dolphining” I mean that I sometimes have whole-ass conversations in my head during the pauses in the conversation (esp. if the other person is being a bit boring) so it looks like I'm popping up all over the place, like a dolphin breaking the ocean surface in random locations.

This kind of jumping around is a liability in debates

This is why I still enjoy writing so much. The text in front of you represents a constant thread you can use to tie down your thinking and ground it.