My .0001 pounds sterling on how to use the radio
1) Don't drop the airplane to fly the radio. Fly the airplane first even if that involves a delay to make a radio call or respond to one
2) The purpose of aviation radio calls is to convey information. Better is the enemy of good enough. Getting all worried about saying exactly the right thing ( whatever that is given the range of opinions on what constitutes the "right" thing to say
) is self defeating. If you don't know the exact format say what you want or what you are doing in plane errrrrr plain English.
3) The main type of use of radio failures I see is pushing the mike button then trying to think about what to say. This results in a transmission that starts with a long UMMMMMMMM or ERRRRRRRR and then a mad jumble of words. Engage the brain before the PTT !
4) If you get stuck mid way through the transmission get off the mike rather than using up airtime trying to remember what to say
5) All radio calls have the same format.
-Who: You are transmitting to
-Who: You are ( ie your call sign)
-Where: You are
-What: You want or what you are going to do.