203. No Script, No Problem: Final Secrets to Speaking Under Pressure (Bonus)

Stay sharp, sound confident, and speak with impact — even when you're put on the spot. Communicating clearly is challenging enough when there’s time to prepare. But in most situations — whether in meetings, casual conversations, or high-stakes moments — we rarely have the luxury of scripting our words. We must think and speak in real time. Spontaneous communication is a daily challenge, yet few of us receive formal training in how to handle it with poise and confidence. So how can we stay composed and communicate effectively when put on the spot? Drawing on years of experience, our expert coaches — including a sports broadcaster, FBI negotiator, UN interpreter, game show host, NFL referee, and Sotheby’s auctioneer — share their final pieces of advice to help answer that question. In this special episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart https://www.fastersmarter.io/, the Spontaneous Speaking miniseries concludes with powerful tools, frameworks, and tips for staying calm, organizing your thoughts, and speaking with clarity under pressure. Matt Abrahams shares practical strategies and exercises designed to help you build lasting habits and sharpen your impromptu speaking skills. Whether you tend to freeze when caught off guard or simply want to express your ideas more effectively on the fly, this final installment will equip you to not only think fast — but speak smart. Episode Reference Links: Chris Voss https://www.fastersmarter.io/guests/christopher-voss/ - Former FBI Negotiator, Keynote SpeakerChris Voss's Book: Empathy and Understanding In Business http://fastersmarter.io/empathy-and-understanding Annabelle Williams https://www.fastersmarter.io/guests/annabelle-williams/ - Paralympic Champion, Sports BroadcasterGiampaolo Bianchi https://www.fastersmarter.io/guests/giampaolo-bianchi/ - United Nations InterpreterBrad Rogers https://www.fastersmarter.io/guests/brad-rogers/ - NFL Referee, ProfessorPhyllis Kao https://www.fastersmarter.io/guests/phyllis-kao/ - Sotheby's AuctioneerPeter D Sagal https://www.fastersmarter.io/guests/peter-d-sagal/ - Game Show Host, Author Connect: Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium https://www.fastersmarter.io/premium/Email Questions & Feedback >>> [email protected] Transcripts >>>Think Fast Talk Smart Website https://www.fastersmarter.io/203-no-script-no-problem-final-secrets-to-speaking-under-pressure-bonus/Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>>FasterSmarter.io http://fastersmarter.io/Think Fast Talk Smart >>>LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/think-fast-talk-smart/,Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thinkfasttalksmart/, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6caGRBUYZCmgDGM2RK6mxKB9jG_ccmm3Matt Abrahams >>>LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maabrahams/ Chapters: (00:00) - Introduction (00:45) - The Power of Structure (04:37) - Expert Tip: Trust Yourself (04:58) - Expert Tip: Project Confidence & Provide Value (06:37) - Expert Tip: Ask for What You Need & Visualization (09:04) - Expert Tip: Review & Reflect (11:04) - Expert Tip: Use an Encouraging Tone (11:25) - Expert Tip: Turn Observation into Storytelling (13:18) - Conclusion ******** Thank you to our sponsors. These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost. Learn more about how Notion https://www.notion.com/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=thinkfast can support your business at notion.com/thinkfast. https://www.notion.com/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=thinkfast Join our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be. https://learning.fastersmarter.io/?redirect_from=podpage

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Matt Abrahams?

  In the moment, conflict is difficult for everyone. In our October newsletter, out now, you will learn ways to help yourself handle these challenges better. Not only do you get specific advice, we're also providing an infographic to help you remember. Find our newsletter on the Think Fast, Talk Smart LinkedIn page or at fastersmarter.io under Resources.

• 0:24Matt Abrahams?

  The ability to think on our feet and respond well is something we all can learn to do. My name is Matt Abrahams, and I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to this Quick Think's final episode of our Think Fast, Talk Smart mini-series into Effective Spontaneous Speaking. The three episodes of this mini-series that precede this one have walked through how to prepare, how to be present, and how to persist during spontaneous challenges. In our fourth episode, we now take a look at a few bonus bits of advice that can really help you to be more calm and confident when communicating in the moment.

• 1:07Matt Abrahams?

  Growing up with the last name of Abrahams, I have always known what it is like to be put on the spot and have to speak spontaneously. Teachers can often be predictable. In school, I always knew where I would sit and knew that I would go first. I eventually became comfortable speaking in an impromptu way. It was a challenge, a puzzle. A tool I used back then and still use to this day is structure. Structures are frameworks, guides, roadmaps. They give you a place to begin and a place to end. They provide a logical connection of ideas. We all know frameworks. If you've ever watched a television advertisement, you've seen one at play.

• 1:50Matt Abrahams?

  It's the problem, solution, benefit structure. Most advertisements start with some kind of issue or challenge in the world. Their product or service solves that issue or challenge, and you in some way benefit. I don't care if you're selling automobiles, alcohol, or medicines. Problem, solution, Benefit is a very useful structure for being persuasive, especially when put on the spot. Now, I have a structure that I love even more than that one, and that is three simple questions. What? So what? Now what? What is the information that you're sharing? So what is why it is important to you? And now what is what comes next?

• 2:33Matt Abrahams?

  So imagine you're in a meeting and your boss turns to you and says, "Give me an update." You hadn't planned to present an update. What do you do? You explain what you've been working on, and then why it's important, and what you intend to do next, and the plans and contingencies that you have to follow. What? So what? Now what? Imagine you come out of that meeting and a colleague turns to you and says, "How'd that go? What do you think?" Now you have to give feedback in the moment. Again, the structure helps. What is your feedback? "I thought the meeting went well, except when you spoke about the implementation plan. You spoke quickly and you didn't give as much detail as you did elsewhere."

• 3:17Matt Abrahams?

  Why is that important? Well, when you speak quickly, without giving a lot of detail, people think you're nervous or unprepared. So what do we do next? The next time you present, slow down and include these two additional bits of information. By leveraging this structure in the moment, you can respond better. Whenever you speak spontaneously, you have two obligations: what you say and how you say it. Having a structure helps you with how you say it. All you have to do is think about what it is you're going to say inside the structure. You've halved your burden. You've made it easier for yourself. Now, how do you get better at structure? You have to drill it.

• 4:02Matt Abrahams?

  Let me give you an example of how to improve what, so what, now what. Every time you're finished listening to one of our podcast episodes, or perhaps listening to or reading a book, or attending a meeting, simply ask yourself, "What was it about? Why is it important to me? And what can I do with this information?" By drilling- Doing that for just 30 seconds after every podcast episode, every meeting, every interaction, you train your brain to think in that way. And by doing so, it becomes easier for you to use. So now that you've heard some of my advice that I've learned over my life to help, and that is using structure, I'd like us to return back to our many coaches who we've used throughout our three episodes.

• 4:45Matt Abrahams?

  If you haven't listened to those episodes, please take a moment to do so. There's a lot of valuable information. Let's listen in as our coaches each give us one bit of additional advice to help us speak better in the moment.

• 5:01Matt Abrahams?

  Giampolo, our UN interpreter coach, starts us off with one of the most important keys to successful spontaneous speaking. One thing that helps me to think fast and talk smart is learning to trust myself. It's not enough just to have trust in yourself. You also have to have trust in your content. Our next coach adds why having such self-assurance is so imperative. Peter Sagal is the host of NPR's weekly news game show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Just so you know, you might hear his son in the background. Peter shares with us a reminder of what a central goal should be anytime we're speaking, but especially when we're speaking on the spot.

• 5:44Matt Abrahams?

  While many of us listening are very unlikely to do what you do for a living, what advice would you give our listeners to just become better speakers in the moment?

• 5:55Speaker 01

  I think there are two things that I think both difficult, but both important and maybe essential. A, confidence. We human beings are so good at reading social cues that no matter what you're saying, if you're sending out social cues of discomfort, of nervousness, that's all people are going to pay attention to. So you have to be confident that you belong there. And the second one is kind of connected, is you have to say something of value. And that's really hard if you're going to be speaking to people and you do it with confidence and with effect, you have to. Say something that you believe has value and coming up with something about any topic

• 6:36Speaker 01

  that is both valuable and something that your audience has never heard before is really hard, but absolutely essential. That's the job. You have to know something they don't know. You have to have a perspective they don't have, or you have to have an insight that they haven't arrived yet.

• 6:53Matt Abrahams?

  So to really help people be better in the moment, you have to have confidence in that moment and you have to provide value to very good bits of advice.

• 7:02Matt Abrahams?

  Coach Phyllis Cow is up next. She's a Sotheby's auctioneer and has a great piece of advice on keeping a good mindset. Can you share any advice you have received that has helped you do your job better that all of us might benefit from?

• 7:17Speaker 02

  I have some advice that I had to learn and teach myself the hard way that I wish someone had told me. And this might not resonate with everyone. When you're going into a performance or a high pressure environment, you know, when you really have the pressure to perform, I was always so concerned with looking like a diva and I would never want to ruffle feathers or change the program, change the protocol. I thought, okay, just take care of yourself. I just didn't want to be pegged as a diva. But then I found that was to my detriment in many cases. No one else knows what you need better than you do. And you know, if

• 8:00Speaker 02

  that little voice in your head says, this will really help you, then just ask for it.

• 8:07Matt Abrahams?

  Right. So taking care of yourself and your needs can help you be better at what you do. Part of that, I think, is the confidence and assertiveness that comes with that. But I also think part of it is if you're constantly judging and evaluating, am I coming off like a diva? Am I offending? That you're not truly present because part of you is in that evaluative mode. So that's good advice. We've talked previously in our first episode about what to do before we go into a situation where you'll be likely to speak spontaneously. And here, Phyllis will share how visualization is a core part of her pre-auction ritual.

• 8:43Speaker 02

  I think probably the most universally helpful aspect of it would be that I imagine myself in the auctioneer's rostrum, facing an audience, and confidently conducting the auction with power and grace and charisma, you know, just all of the perfect elements that you'd want to embody together.

• 9:12Matt Abrahams?

  That's fantastic. So you're visualizing success and you're visualizing how you want to be in so doing. It helps you become that and it helps you feel more confident. That is a technique that has been around and studied for many decades and truly does help people. NFL referee Brad Rogers shows us how reviewing and reflecting on his performance can help him continue to improve and grow his spontaneous speaking muscles.

• 9:37Speaker 03

  I review every announcement. I go through everything that I do, not only looking at what others do, but I look at everything I do. And I look at it and go, did I cause more confusion? Did I cause something negative? And as I listen to other referees that have good communication skills, I try to implement those. You know, technology, it provides us with instantaneous opportunities for improvement. And so after a game, I have access to the game when I'm on the plane. They load it on our iPads and I go through it and I start to look and see what was the work that I did and my crew did? What was our body of work? Was it positive? Was it negative? Those types of perceptions. And I don't really

• 10:18Speaker 03

  sit and watch and listen to sports talk shows. I don't want to listen to it because most of the time, they live in the land of what we might do wrong. And I don't want to go there. I want to look at it and evaluate it from the standpoint of, I want to listen to other trainers and evaluators that are helping us get better. This officiating is not easy. And so I just don't. Allow that outside noise to take away from my focus. My focus is on grading feedback. Every play, everything is evaluated. And we work to just improve and move forward. So that whenever I have interactions with coaches, the next time they hear the authentic me talking to them. This isn't something robotic.

• 11:01Speaker 03

  I want players and coaches to feel the effectiveness of what we're doing in a positive way.

• 11:06Matt Abrahams?

  A lot of richness in that answer. So it sounds like you are using a couple criteria to assess how well you did. Was it clear? And did I add to any confusion? So as you're reviewing what others have said and yourself, you're using that reflection to help improve. And that's really, really key. We'll be right back to finish our conversation. But first, we're going to take a quick break for a word from our sponsors. Their support covers the cost of production, so we can bring you this show for free. This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. The best communicators don't just get their message across. They make it easy for people to know what to do next. Your website can do the same thing. With Squarespace, you can build a polished online presence

• 11:50Matt Abrahams?

  that clearly shows people who you are, what you offer, and how they can work with you. If you offer coaching, consulting, classes, or other services, Squarespace lets you showcase those offerings, take payments, and use Acuity Scheduling so people can book time with you directly. And with built-in analytics, you can see how people are finding and engaging with your site, helping you make smarter decisions about where to focus. So your online presence doesn't just look professional. It helps people take action. Go to Squarespace.com/thinkfast for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code THINKFAST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Hi, Matt here.

• 12:33Matt Abrahams?

  Sometimes the biggest obstacle to getting something done isn't the idea, the plan, or even the budget. It's finding the right person to help you execute. And the longer that takes, the easier it is to lose momentum. That's where today's sponsor Upwork can help. Upwork gives businesses fast access to highly skilled freelance professionals across areas like marketing, design, software development, AI, and business operations. And with Business Plus, you can access the top 1% of talent on Upwork. AI-powered shortlisting gives you a curated list of freelancers matched to your goals in under six hours. So you can spend less time searching for the right person and more time actually moving the work forward. Visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free.

• 13:17Matt Abrahams?

  That's upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's U.P.W.O.R.K. dot com. Upwork.com.

• 13:29Matt Abrahams?

  Chris Voss, who is a former FBI negotiator, leaves us with yet another good reminder. Tone is really important. It's not just how you say the words. It's the emotion that you convey.

• 13:42Speaker 04

  One thing I do to think fast and talk smart is use an encouraging tone of voice.

• 13:50Matt Abrahams?

  Here's our last piece of homework from our last coach, sports broadcaster and Paralympic champion, Annabelle Williams.

• 13:57Speaker 05

  There's one thing that I do a lot of, and I realize I do this whenever I have a moment on my own, which is rare with small children. But you know, when I'm running, I do this. If I'm sitting on the bus, I do this. I often look around or I try and be as observant as I possibly can. I try and see what's happening around me. And then if I notice something, I often think to myself, how would I create a story about that? Or if someone asked me to relay this information, what would I say? If I see something funny, I'd think, how would I tell that if I had to tell it in a story? You know, if I was on the bus going to work and I'm starting with a team meeting and I'd noticed something that occurred on the bus, it was kind of funny. How would I tell that story to my team? What are the essential elements of it? What's too much information?

• 14:41Speaker 05

  If I phrase it this way, would it be funnier? And that helps me a lot. And then I often jot those things down. I have a, you know, it's on my phone in my notes, a series of millions of stories that I think I could use these, you know, various points in time, I could craft it into a story for my keynote. I could do it when I'm at a dinner party, telling a story. So be as observant as you possibly can at all times. You never know where you'll get a story from. And then spend the time when you're on your own thinking, how would I craft that into a really funny story? Or a really heartfelt story, or a really meaningful story?

• 15:13Matt Abrahams?

  Well, homework accepted. That is a great, practical bit of homework. And I can see how it would help you to do what you do, right? Crafting stories in the moment, based on what you're seeing. And it just echoes the things you've shared with us. This notion of focusing on the present, noticing what's going on, thinking to yourself, how can I bring a connection between what I just saw to others who might not have seen it or might not appreciate it in the same way that I do?

• 15:46Matt Abrahams?

  Thank you for tuning in to this bonus Quick Thinks episode for our spontaneous speaking mini series. If you haven't caught up on the previous episodes, we encourage you to go back and listen to them all. Our coaches share a lot of incredibly helpful advice you won't want to miss. This episode was produced by Aru Nair and me, Matt Abrahams. Our music is from Floyd Wonder, with special thanks to Podium Podcast Company. Please find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe and rate us. Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. And check out fastersmarter.io for deep dive videos, English language learning content, and our newsletter.

• 16:28Matt Abrahams?

  Please consider our premium offering for extended Deep Thinks episodes, Ask Matt Anythings, and more at fastersmarter.io/premium.

• 16:44Matt Abrahams?

  Before we wrap up, I just want to say thank you for listening. It really means a lot to hear how people all over the world are using these ideas in their own lives. It inspires me and the whole team that brings you this show. If you want more episodes and resources, feel free to follow, subscribe, and explore past conversations. We're grateful for your support of Think Fast, Talk Smart.