Think Faster, Talk Smarter

Monthly Book Review

I hate being put on the spot. Spontaneous communication is one of my weak point. While I don’t think this will ever become a strength for me (it’s not how my brain works), it is something I know I can improve on.

You may feel the same way. Regardless, many of us have to be ready to engage in small talk, comment at meetings, or even do presentations or pitches on a moment’s notice. So we have to be ready for spontaneous communication, even if we’re not great at it.

That’s why I was excited to pick up this book by Matt Abrahams.

Overview

Think Faster, Talk Smarter by Matt Abrahams is a practical guide aimed at helping people improve their communication skills, especially in situations where they need to think on their feet. Part one of the book provides a framework for preparing to become better at spontaneous communication, including techniques and strategies to help you stay calm, organized, and effective in spontaneous speaking scenarios. Part two provides examples of implementing the strategies and frameworks when you need to use them in small talk, giving praise, making a pitch, etc.

So let’s discuss some of the key takeaways.

Takeaways

Create Structure

In the book, the author relates the story about being a tour guide on a university campus. One of the key rules for being a tour guide is to “never lose your group,” both figuratively and literally. People need to know where you’re going. And if you’re leading, you need to ensure you get them to each point along the way.

We’ve all heard presentations or stories that don’t feel like they’re going anywhere. It is difficult for us to follow along because the story or the presentation or the pitch lacks structure.

Our minds are naturally wired for structure and stories. We crave it. So it’s important we create a structure for people to follow. As the book mentions, this includes a beginning, middle, and end.

Of course, it’s easy to create structure when we are preparing a presentation or have time to think. But how do we do it spontaneously?

Think Faster, Talk Smarter suggests we prepare ourselves with some useful frameworks that we can employ whenever we need. So let’s talk about one of those now.

Use What, So What, Now What

One framework that the book suggests we can use to give structure to our conversations, presentations, and other spontaneous communications is “what, so what, now what.”