Talking involves forcefully expelling air from the lungs. The moisture in that air carries the bad stuff. You get bigger droplets carrying further with coughs and sneezes, but there are more folks saying now that 6' isn't sufficient to stop transmission, even just from talking, without some barrier.
Besides, nearly everyone I know coughs and sneezes occasionally, even when they aren't sick.
First they had to get people to stop panic-buying PPE that we need to keep the healthcare system running. If anyone had been saying "don't buy N95, sew an inferior DIY mask instead" on day 1, no one would have listened.I've lost respect for our experts who have been telling us for weeks why we should not wear masks unless we were sick or caring for sick people.