Procuro hablar despacio cuando estoy nervioso.

Procuro comes from procurar, which often means to try, to make an effort, or to make sure.

In this sentence, procuro hablar despacio means something like:

• I try to speak slowly
• I make an effort to speak slowly

Compared with intento, procurar can sound a little more like a habitual effort or a conscious practice, not just a single attempt.

For example:

• Intento abrir la puerta = I’m trying to open the door.
• Procuro hablar despacio = I generally try to speak slowly / I make a point of speaking slowly.

Both can work in many contexts, but procurar often feels slightly more deliberate or careful.

Because after procurar, Spanish normally uses an infinitive.

So the structure is:

• procurar + infinitive

Examples:

• Procuro descansar más. = I try to rest more.
• Procuro llegar temprano. = I try to arrive early.
• Procuro hablar despacio. = I try to speak slowly.

Using hablo would give you a second conjugated verb, which does not fit here:

• Procuro hablo despacio ❌

Spanish usually avoids putting two fully conjugated verbs together like that unless they are linked in a different structure.

Because despacio is an adverb, and here it modifies the verb hablar.

You need an adverb because the sentence is describing how someone speaks.

• hablar despacio = to speak slowly

Why not lento?

• lento is an adjective, so it describes a noun, not the action directly.
• hablo lento is heard in some places, but in standard Spanish, especially for learners, despacio or lentamente is safer and more natural.

Why not lentamente?

• lentamente is also correct.
• But despacio is often more common and more natural in everyday speech.

So:

• hablar despacio ✅ very natural
• hablar lentamente ✅ correct, slightly more formal or descriptive
• hablar lento ⚠ common in some regions, but less standard for beginners to copy

Because estar is used for a temporary state or condition, and being nervous in a particular moment is usually temporary.

So:

• estoy nervioso = I am nervous
• soy nervioso = I am a nervous person / I’m generally nervous by nature

In this sentence, the meaning is about how you feel at that time:

• cuando estoy nervioso = when I’m nervous

If you said cuando soy nervioso, it would sound odd because cuando is referring to situations or moments, and ser nervioso describes a more permanent personality trait.

Because Spanish often omits subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

Here:

• procuro already tells you the subject is I
• estoy also already tells you the subject is I

So:

• Procuro hablar despacio cuando estoy nervioso. ✅
• Yo procuro hablar despacio cuando yo estoy nervioso. ✅ but usually unnecessary

Spanish uses pronouns like yo mainly for:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity

For example:

• Yo procuro hablar despacio, pero él no. = I try to speak slowly, but he doesn’t.

Because nervioso agrees with the speaker’s gender.

If the speaker is male, you say:

• estoy nervioso

If the speaker is female, you say:

• estoy nerviosa

This is because nervioso/nerviosa is an adjective describing the person speaking.

So the full sentence changes like this:

• Procuro hablar despacio cuando estoy nervioso. = said by a man
• Procuro hablar despacio cuando estoy nerviosa. = said by a woman

Cuando means when and introduces a time clause.

The sentence has two parts:

• Procuro hablar despacio = main idea
• cuando estoy nervioso = tells you when that happens

So cuando estoy nervioso means:

• when I’m nervous

It explains the situation in which the speaker makes that effort.

Other examples:

• Bebo agua cuando hace calor. = I drink water when it’s hot.
• Leo cuando tengo tiempo. = I read when I have time.

Because the sentence describes a general habit or repeated situation in the present.

It does not mean only one specific moment. It means something like:

• Whenever I’m nervous, I try to speak slowly.

So both verbs are in the present because this is a normal pattern or tendency:

• Procuro = I try / I usually try
• estoy = I am

Spanish often uses the present tense for this kind of repeated, general meaning.

Yes. Trato de hablar despacio is very natural and means almost the same thing.

Common alternatives include:

• Procuro hablar despacio.
• Intento hablar despacio.
• Trato de hablar despacio.

A small difference:

• procurar + infinitive
• tratar de + infinitive
• intentar + infinitive

All are common, but the grammar changes slightly with tratar de, because it needs de.

So:

• Procuro hablar despacio. ✅
• Intento hablar despacio. ✅
• Trato de hablar despacio. ✅
• Trato hablar despacio. ❌

The given word order is very natural:

• Procuro hablar despacio cuando estoy nervioso.

But Spanish does allow some variation, depending on emphasis.

For example:

• Cuando estoy nervioso, procuro hablar despacio.

This version emphasizes the condition first: When I’m nervous, I try to speak slowly.

Both are correct. The original sentence sounds neutral and natural.

No. Despacio is a very common adverb and can be used with many actions to mean slowly.

Examples:

• Camina despacio. = He/She walks slowly.
• Conduce despacio. = Drive slowly.
• Lee despacio. = Read slowly.
• Habla despacio. = Speak slowly.

It can also appear in expressions like:

• Más despacio, por favor. = More slowly, please.

So it is a very useful everyday word, not something limited to speech.

Yes, it sounds completely natural in Spain.

Nothing in the sentence is unusual or strongly regional:

• procuro is normal
• hablar despacio is very natural
• cuando estoy nervioso is standard Spanish

A speaker from Spain might also say alternatives like:

• Intento hablar más despacio cuando estoy nervioso.
• Cuando estoy nervioso, procuro hablar despacio.

But the original sentence is perfectly idiomatic and natural.