Pausing for three seconds before you reply is enough to notice what you actually want to say.

A short gap is the whole difference between reacting and answering. In three seconds the first impulse loses its grip and you reach the thing you meant to say instead, which tends to be both calmer and more accurate. It barely registers as a pause to anybody else. The time costs nothing and changes the sentence.

Try counting to three before you reply in one conversation this week, especially a tense one. Notice how often the second thought is better than the first.