Ever found yourself thinking, “Just get to the point”? You’re not alone. Whether it’s a colleague updating you on a project, a direct report explaining an issue or a customer describing a problem, three minutes in, you still don’t know the point. You know it’s in there somewhere, but you’re the one having to dig for it.
Poor business communication isn’t usually caused by a lack of knowledge. It’s caused by people struggling to organise their thoughts before they speak. The result is explanations that lack clarity, brevity and impact. This wastes time, creates confusion and makes simple conversations harder than they need to be.
Why it happens
It’s not a lack of knowledge; they’re just thinking out loud. Not organising their thoughts first; they’re just speaking. Beginning with background, adding context as they remember it, eventually arriving at the point, if they arrive there at all.
You ask, “Has the customer approved it?” They start with what happened last Tuesday.
It isn’t a lack of intelligence or expertise. In fact, it’s often the opposite.
People know their subject so well that they struggle to decide what’s most important to say first. The real problem is that very few professionals are ever taught how to structure their thinking or communicate clearly under pressure.
Whether they’re answering a difficult question in a meeting, briefing a customer, explaining a recommendation or giving you a project update, they need a way to organise their thoughts quickly before they start speaking.
The fix: Think on Your Feet®
Think on Your Feet® develops practical business communication skills by giving people ten proven techniques for organising a message before they speak. Instead of thinking out loud, they learn to think first, communicate second. And if they need extra time to think, there are techniques to help them buy time.
The result is simple: the headline comes first, the supporting detail comes afterwards, and the unnecessary padding disappears.
The programme is designed for the informal and ad-hoc conversations that make up most of the working day:
- answering questions,
- explaining decisions,
- handling customer conversations,
- contributing in meetings, and
- responding under pressure.
Rather than teaching people how to deliver prepared presentations, it teaches them how to communicate clearly, think on their feet and structure their message in real time.
Rooted in Dr Keith Spicer’s work on structured, spontaneous communication, Think on Your Feet® has helped more than a million professionals across more than 30 countries communicate with greater clarity, brevity and impact (The Story of Think on Your Feet® — Think on Your Feet® International, Inc.).
What changes when your team can think on thier feet?
- Meetings become shorter because people get to the point.
- Project updates become easier to follow because the key message comes first.
- Customers receive clear, confident answers instead of rambling explanations that create uncertainty.
- Managers spend less time asking, “What’s the actual recommendation?” and more time making decisions.
- People become more confident because they know how to organise their thoughts – even when they’re under pressure or caught off guard.
None of this requires more meetings, a bigger team or another process. It comes from giving people a practical structure for thinking and communicating clearly whenever they’re asked to explain, recommend, update or respond.
See it in action, before you commit
We’re running free 45-minute MS Teams demonstrations of Think on Your Feet®, giving you the opportunity to experience the communication techniques, understand the structured approach and see how the programme develops clarity, brevity and impact in everyday business conversations.
- Think on Your Feet® – Thursday 11 September, 10:00–10:45 BST – reserve your place
- Think on Your Feet® – Tuesday 17 November, 14:00–14:45 GMT – reserve your place
If you’d prefer to discuss bringing Think on Your Feet® into your organisation, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
Sources:
The Story of Think on Your Feet® — Think on Your Feet® International, Inc.
