Think On Your Feet: Key Group

Leaders communicate effectively in one-on-one team and group interactions in both informal and formal settings.

Consulting & Training Programs

Think On Your Feet®

It has happened to everyone. You’re with a client and everything’s going well, until a tough question comes your way. You repeat the question to buy time, but fumble a vague response that skirts the issue and makes you look like a fool. While no one can be expected to know everything, mishandling yourself in a situation like this can make you look incompetent and even lose sales.

Or worse yet, you’re familiar with your material, but being caught off guard throws you off your game. Having to give a response when you least expect it may leave you fidgeting and stuttering your way through answers you understand but simply fail to communicate.

But don’t worry. If being caught off guard makes you want to bolt for the door or fake a fainting spell, you’re not alone. Learning to come up with a response in the moment isn’t something that always comes naturally, but it is something you can learn.

That’s why we offer Think On Your Feet® , a workshop designed to teach you how to handle rough questions and off-the-wall impositions with grace. Think On Your Feet® has achieved worldwide recognition as one of the most original and useful oral communications workshops available today.

Whether you’re answering questions on-the-spot, getting ideas across at a meeting, communicating with staff, explaining complex information, or selling products and services, Think On Your Feet® provides the techniques you need to turn around customer objections, get support for your ideas, and win more business.

The Power of Thinking on Your Feet

Analyzing the Situation Getting to the core of the situation you’re presented with helps you pull through with the perfect answer.
Organizing Your Ideas Once you’re aware of what the core issues are, you’ll be better able to determine what information you have is useful to your listeners, and what isn’t. Our plans for sorting your ideas help you tailor your thoughts to your situation.
Presenting Your Solution After you’ve gotten to the core of the problem and eliminated irrelevant information, you need to deliver your solution and persuade your listener to believe you.

Organizing Your Ideas with Six Plans: 3 Neutral, 3 Assertive

Which is Right for You? Every situation is different, so you’ll need to learn how best to organize your ideas based on different variables. Is time an issue? Do you need to persuade your listener? Determine whether you need a neutral or assertive plan, and then explore each of your options.
From Theory to Reality Analyze on-the-spot scenarios that might occur in your organization, and plan out how one might best handle these situations.
Practice Makes Perfect Role playing is a great way to practice organizing your ideas on the fly. This activity will hone your ability to organize ideas quickly and effectively.

Bridging Techniques

Question the Question Paraphrasing the question might seem like a cheap cop out at first, but it’s actually quite useful. You’ll be buying yourself time and ensuring that you’re trying to answer what was actually asked.
Responding with a Question Asking someone to clarify or expand on their question is also a great way to learn more about what is actually being asked of you. This way, you’ll be better able to focus on how to organize your ideas.
Go Easy on Yourself Answer the part of the question that you’re most comfortable with. You’ll be more confident with your answer and your nerves will be at ease.