Book Review: The Art of Thinking and Speaking Under Pressure
Before entering the room, we could sense it was not a routine meeting. What else would you expect when the economy of the region where your company operates is in free fall?
It was October 1997 and the Asian Financial Crisis had engulfed most of Southeast Asia. Thailand and Indonesia, the two epicenters of the financial quake, were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Between June 1997 and December 1998, the Indonesian Rupiah lost 70% of its value.
In parallel, a crisis was also brewing up in our company, a Singapore-based building services consulting firm. And why not? Indonesia was very the country where our firm was consulting for several mega building projects--now all stalled, thanks to investors pulling the plug.
How could the company survive against the triple whammy—canceled projects, under-utilized resources, and choked cash flows? And that's what the meeting was about.
Fateful meeting
Opening the meeting, our Director-Operations painted a gloomy picture of the business environment and explained how our boat was sinking fast. And then, he opened the floor for suggestions.
With a grim face and heavy voice, one of our senior engineers suggested the company could diversify and pursue power plant projects in South India. Another colleague confidently suggested we could consider public sector projects, something the company had shunned until then in favor of more lucrative private sector projects. Seeing the director listening intently and assuming he really needed more ideas, my hand also went up.
A few moments later I was standing in front of 15 people, all staring at me and waiting to hear the words of wisdom on how we could get out of the mess. And that’s when the lights went off--not of the room, but of my mind. Yes, it went blank! The more I tried to say something, the more I felt I had nothing to say. No mirror was required; I knew my face had miraculously changed its color with tiny beads of sweat appearing all over.
Meanwhile, my restive audience was left in no doubt that the man who wanted to speak about the business crisis was in crisis himself.
What appeared like an eternity, two minutes later I was walking back to my seat without contributing anything meaningful. Interestingly, as I settled back in my seat, all those grand ideas that I wanted to share suddenly reappeared in my head. But it was too late!
Thinking on seat vs. feet
My public speaking disaster that fateful afternoon 20 years back left me thinking: Why can we think well and speak (on almost any subject) fluently while sitting around the lunch table? But when asked to stand up and speak, thoughts get cloudy or completely vanish, words outpour in a random sequence or sometimes don't even flow out? What's the difference between speaking on your seat versus on your feet?
Fortunately, the answers to the questions above came in the form of a gift a thoughtful friend of mine gave me a few weeks after the meeting: A relatively unknown and old (published in 1981), but deeply insightful book, "Think on Your Feet: The Art of Thinking and Speaking Under Pressure" by Ken Wydro.
From many great insights in this book, I am sharing below the following three that you can straightaway apply and enjoy greater success in "thinking on your feet" situations:
#1: Relaxation: The vault of riches
Wydro begins by addressing the foundational question: What does it take to remain calm and composed when speaking under pressure?
According to him, one can either be like a thermometer or a thermostat. If you allow the outside circumstances to control your internal weather, i.e., your composure, you act like a thermometer, which simply responds to the outside temperature. But dynamic and confident speakers demonstrate thermostat consciousness; instead of allowing outside conditions to control their composure, they think and speak from the inside out. They control their own weather. Says Wydro:
Whenever you’ve to think under pressure, there is only one major idea to keep in mind: More important than what is happening around you or to you is what is happening in you. The pressure, the circumstances, the irritating people are all outside of you, but your reaction is inside of you.
Profound insight! As you know, under pressure, most people act like a thermometer instead of a thermostat. But why?
According to him, we all have a source of unlimited creativity and talent within us, and by accessing this source, one can easily think on our feet and speak fluently, spontaneously, and confidently. But when we are fearful, worried, and concerned, we lose connection to this source. And so, he says:
Relaxation is the key.
I find this insight absolutely true. In a state of relaxation, our ideas flow smoothly, and we have no difficulty speaking and expressing ourselves. But when we become self-conscious, fearful, or worried, the pipeline to the source of ideas is instantly cut—and one goes blank.
But how to cultivate thermostat consciousness?
Wydro introduces the Slight Edge Technique:
Learning to relax under pressure: Slight Edge Technique (SET)
The name of this technique originates from the author’s observation that at the top level in any profession, the difference in performance between the top performer and the rest is not huge, but marginal. Almost everybody is talented at that level, but winners are those who can express their talent under pressure. World championships and Olympics where medals are won or lost by a sliver of a second are testimony to the idea of a slight edge making a big difference.
To develop a slight edge for thinking on feet, Wydro suggests adding two simple habits to our daily routine:
Idea of the day: In the morning, sit quietly for a few minutes and think of an “idea of the day”. This idea could be “relax under pressure”, “enjoy the day”, “be grateful” or anything that looks fitting for the day. Next, write it down in your notebook and repeat the idea to yourself a couple of times in your mind till it sinks. Finally, visualize acting on your idea (e.g., visualize yourself explaining something confidently in a meeting later in the morning), hold it for a few minutes, and then let it go. Clear your mind of all images and thoughts, take a few deep breaths, and open your eyes. And get on with your day.
Wydro says:
领英推荐
The clearer, simpler, and more precise the basic thought, the more effective would be your words, gestures and actions during the meeting or speaking opportunity during the day.
Night-time review: Next, before retiring in the night, spend a few minutes reviewing how your idea played out during the day. Again write your thoughts in the notebook.
To those who may wonder "What's the big deal about SET?" Wydro says:
At first, it is not easy to see the relationship between investing ten quiet, relaxed, focused minutes a day and communicating with impact. Framing your day in a silent, positive way seems too simple a technique for the emergence of spontaneous, confident thought to flow through the normal exchanges with other people. But truth of the matter is that quiet time for yourself taps depths in you that can be approached in no other way.
The keywords above are "quiet time for yourself taps the depth in you".
As SET takes hold in your routine, you will start pushing your own buttons instead of allowing others to push your buttons.
Please give SET a try! The dividends will be many times the investment.
# 2: Organising random thoughts with Multi-level thinking
Besides the problem of thermometer consciousness, the other challenge is managing the randomness of thoughts, especially when speaking extempore. Haven't you seen how people ramble and shoot in all directions, leaving their audience wondering, "What the hell he/she is trying to say?" This problem originates from the way our mind works: Ideas spring up in our mind in random order, unless we organize them consciously. To solve this problem, Wydro suggests a three-level framework of thinking, which he calls multi-level thinking.
Level 3: At level 3, which is the highest level, you first identify the overall purpose of your presentation or talk. When people do not take time to clarify their purpose before they speak, they work from outside in and are overly concerned about what others are thinking and vulnerable to getting their buttons pushed from outside.
In Wydro's words:
When an idea is present in the form of a conscious purpose, the intention will guide you to find the right words from higher perspective.
To identify the purpose, ask:
"When you're fired with a purpose, you shine with enthusiasm," asserts Wydro.
Level 2: At level 2 of the multi-level thinking framework, comes PREP, a powerful way to organize your content:
Wydro suggests one should start with a clear POV, which can be a short and clear sentence to impress upon the audience your position on a specific issue. Next, explain the reasons (R) behind the POV, followed by providing clear evidence (E) for those reasons. And finally, one should restate the POV with a call for action.
I find the idea of organizing the content in the form of PREP extremely useful for avoiding "shooting in all directions" episodes and sounding logical and convincing.
Level 1: At the ground level is what we hear and see--the words and gestures. Many people (and contemporary books on public speaking) spend the whole of their energy and time in preparing the content (e.g., slides, etc.) while ignoring levels 2 and 3--and that's a recipe for unimpressive or even disastrous performance.
Next time you're presenting or giving a talk or participating in a meeting, try organizing your thoughts at all three levels (purpose, PREP, and actual words).
# 3: For authenticity...dissolve your resentments and prejudices
Finally, Wydro shares one of the deepest insights of this book: We can’t achieve authenticity in thinking on our feet unless we first clean our mental household. What does he mean?
If you hold grudges, prejudices, and resentment against others, you block your connection to the source of talent and creativity.
By harbouring your own enemy list—consciously and unconsciously—you keep yourself out of the flow of the creative process. Your ability to communicate is as short as your list is long.
To emphasize this point, he says "Grudges are like crutches". Our level of excellence and authenticity in communications is equal to our own creative potential divided by resentments, grudges, and prejudices we hold against others. To tap into the unlimited potential for speaking with confidence, he suggests one should slowly dissolve all hidden resentments, grudges, and prejudices against others by forgiving them.
In essence...
Of course, I wish I had read this book before going for that disastrous meeting 20 years back, but then...disasters often lead to destiny.
=====
AGM - Head Strategic Sourcing Biologics & CAR-T DM
5 年Great article
Director
7 年Great article =)
Director, CISO, FS APAC & SEA
7 年I am amazed with your writing style - simple and most impactful! Thanks for sharing. The technique of SET has been preached and taught in several different forms one of which is practicing mindfulness. The positive effect of this technique is seen in many folds and various activities carried out during the day. But I definitely agree with you although it sounds foolishly simple it's equally hard to practise in daily routine especially when we are forced to "momentum of reactionary activities ". Truly gem of an article ??
Senior Engineer - Project & Construction Management
7 年It's a nice read.. Will try the ideas..
Regional Director - BLS - South East Asia
7 年Hi Atul, thanks for sharing. Good to know and practise.