Thinking on your feet...

Satya

Satya

C'est la vie
Retired Staff
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Are you good or bad at thinking on your feet?

I have to be one of the most deliberate thinkers in the world, so I suck at making quick decisions or saying just the right thing when I need to do so.

How about you?
 
I often surprise myself by coming up with reasonable things to say despite making them up as I go along. It almost makes up for the times I surprise myself by missing the gaps in bad ideas despite devoting a fair amount of thought to them.
 
If you mean spontaneous decisions, then no, I'm not very good :) It usually takes some time. And it often happens that the best line I could have said in a particular situation pops up on my way home from the party.
 
It really depends, sometimes I am, sometimes I am not. It seems that when I think on my feet, and it turns out to be a good idea, the idea just "came" to me. If I try to force it, and make myself think fast, it doesn't really work out so well. So in reality, it kind of just happens.
 
In high school I was in a competitive improv troupe which was great practice for spontaneous acting and humor.
 
mf said:
In high school I was in a competitive improv troupe which was great practice for spontaneous acting and humor.
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I am in an acting class right now, and improv exersizes are hard for me. People say I do well with it, but I always feel akward and out of place. I spend too much time thinking "what would be something good to do", and I just can't get out of my head. My professer has told me that is my biggest issue, is that I am far too internal; he's right. At least I will get an A cause I try! :)
 
I've always been pretty good thinking on my feet.
For some reason, I over complicate things when I'm writing though.
 
I cannot react quickly under pressure, especially social pressure. It takes me a long time to sift through information and figure out the right response. I am notoriously bad at the quick response.

This might be a good measure of introversion and extroversion.
 
Is this topic supposed to be mainly about speech or problem solving? I was thinking the former, but I should add that I do have a lot of difficulty figuring things out while people are talking. If you ask me to calculate your sales tax and then stand there saying "I need an answer... I need an answer..." it's going to take a lot longer.
 
"Think on your feet," to me, means being able to think quickly under pressure. That could be either speech or problem solving.
 
I feel like i process information slowly but deeply.

I need to contemplate things. Sometimes i can't keep up with conversations because by the time i have thought of what i am going to say the conversation has moved on.

I have used alcohol at various times in my life to socialise as it seems to shut down whatever process is at work, but it decreases judgement and some situations are a mine field, where i need to be listening to my inner voice (a feeling) which warns me about things before i can rationalise why i am feeling that (for example avoiding saying something which might be insensitive to someone in the room).

I am more content now to take a back seat in social situations and observe the interplay. Finding out about personality types and that i am INFJ made a lot of sense to me about my life! It was kind of a validation of a feeling of being different.
 
I always work best under pressure. As a rule, I'm not a very efficient person when I have too much time on my hands. But when I don't have time to censor or second guess myself, I'm often surprised with what I can come up with.

I've always been able to bullshit through class presentations, even when I wasn't thoroughly prepared. Or when I have to match wits with someone I really want taken down.

Sometimes a lack of confidence/not wanting to hurt another person's feelings is the only thing that stands between me from obeying cerebral impulse.
 
If it's writing... I can't think quickly on my feet.

When I was in school and I've have to write a paper, there would usually be a serious meltdown crisis before I could get the first paragraph written.

For project related pressure, if I can just begin my making a list, I'll take things one item at a time and eventually get it all taken care of. Can't do that with papers though...

We hates papers, precious!!
 
Not good at thinking on my feet at all. I need time to slowly process and analyze information. I also have trouble keeping up with conversations.

I'm also a very slow writer.
 
I wasn't really initially good at it (always used to beat myself up when I came up with an answer later instead of on the spot).

However, I've had a lot of practice, and now I'm quite good at it :D Especially witty retorts :B If it's math, it'll usually take me a little longer, but I'm good with critical thinking and seeing a solution to a larger dilemma (or at least understanding how it works) very quickly.
 
I have become quite good at giving suggestions and making quick decisions at work, as long as the person I am talking to will give me the details I am looking for or I already know the details.

In social situations where I am not comfortable, forget about it.

I can say some amazing things when I am comfortable around someone. If I am not comfortable, I become the king of awkward silence.
 
Not good at thinking on my feet, but it depends on the task, topic, situation, and expected result. Some tasks require more thoughtful considerations to achieve a successful result, but yet these are decisions some expect to be made quickly and instantly, and they can't.

Julia said:
I cannot react quickly under pressure, especially social pressure. It takes me a long time to sift through information and figure out the right response. I am notoriously bad at the quick response.
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Same here. And there's so much impatience today, few are willing to wait as someone thinks through their responses.
 
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Satya said:
Are you good or bad at thinking on your feet?

I have to be one of the most deliberate thinkers in the world, so I suck at making quick decisions or saying just the right thing when I need to do so.

How about you?
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Depends on my mood and who I'm with, etc. If I'm relaxed, I can be witty. If I'm nervous or at all distracted, "...uhmm...so...yeah..." might happen.
 
Interesting range of answers. I have always been what you'd call a "quick thinker". I actually work better under a little pressure, not too much though. My inner punctuality meter is a powerful thing and motivates me as time ticks away.

For writing I like to mull and ponder, and then mull some more. For pretty much everything else I can be quick thinking: problem solving, witty replies (helps to be comfotable there), changing plans and scenerios. People say clever a lot. I always used to feel like that was almost a putdown, like they were amazed someone so quiet could say and do things so quickly and originally. Now I just take it for what it is and say thanks.
 
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