Reading fluently vs speaking fluently — which came first for you?

Six months in and something odd has happened: I can read a newspaper article or a formal letter from the tax office with minimal trouble, but the second someone actually talks to me in a shop, my brain goes blank and I default to pointing and nodding.

I think it's because most of my study has been solo — apps, textbooks, subtitled shows — with almost no real speaking practice built in. Reading and listening comprehension raced ahead while actual production lagged badly behind.

For those further along: did this gap close on its own once you were forced to speak more, or did you have to deliberately train speaking as a separate skill? And practically — what actually got you talking regularly when there's no natural excuse to, especially if you're not in a classroom setting anymore?