“[Think on Your Feet] is a helpful maven’s guide ideal for anyone who views a podium with fear and trembling.”—Publishers Weekly Get out of your own way! Our professional lives are full of situations outside of our control. A job interviewer asks a question out of left field. A coworker puts you on the spot in front of the boss. Your PowerPoint presentation crashes at a critical moment. Most people react to the unexpected with anxiety and unease. We get rattled, stumble over our words, and overthink the situation. Others, though, handle it with self-assurance and aplomb. They gain a sense of empowerment and energy when the pressure is on. Like great improv actors, they’re able to think on their feet. The great thing is, improv isn’t about winging it or flying by the seat of your pants; improv at its core is about listening and responding. It’s based on rules and techniques, and it taps directly into your soft communication skills. By incorporating it into your prep work for professional situations, you’ll learn how to retrain your brain for the unexpected and get out of your own way in those unexpected—and expected—professional situations. Practicing improv isn’t about being funny. Instead, it’s about developing the mental agility to spin any surprise in your favor and to communicate with confidence. Filled with engaging improv activities, this interactive guide will ensure you never come away from a tough moment pondering the woulda, coulda, shoulda! again. You’ll learn how to nurture your personal style for communicating in every professional situation. From effective listening in the office, giving presentations, and leading meetings to negotiating a raise, acing an interview, and more, you’ll start communicating with confidence and stop letting the unexpected hold you back. Take your workplace communication—and your career—to the next level by mastering the art of Thinking on Your Feet.

Impromptu or How to Think on Your Feet is a timeless guide for anyone seeking to improve their public speaking and quick thinking skills. Grenville Kleiser and Isaac Grant Thompson provide practical strategies for overcoming nervousness, organizing your thoughts, and delivering compelling impromptu speeches. Whether you are a student, professional, or simply looking to improve your communication skills, Impromptu is an indispensable resource. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Inclusive Conversations at Work People often avoid difficult conversations; but these discussions need to happen to bring us together so we can all succeed. The best employees and leaders know that harnessing the power of our differences will build stronger teams, ideas, and organizations. If we all think, feel, and act so differently, how do we get anything done? The first step is recognizing that these differences exist. And that they’re here to stay. How to Listen and How to be Heard enables you to empower yourself and others to communicate with people who think, act, and experience things differently than you do, and do so with more confidence, candor, and authenticity. It shows you how to bridge the conversation gap and use your unique voice to start powerful conversations—learning to communicate with, through, and alongside what makes us different. It’s about open dialogue and practical tools for authentic communication in the workplace. It’s about remembering that we’re all here to work together. ALISSA CARPENTER is a multigenerational workplace expert and owner of Everything’s Not Ok and That’s OK, where she provides training, consulting, and speaking services to organizations all over the world. Carpenter has delivered a TEDx talk on authentic workplace communication, and has been featured in media outlets including Forbes, ABC, FOX, and CNN Money.

Have you ever... been caught off guard in a meeting?; been stumped by a query in a sales call?; suffered an embarrassing silence in a job interview?; thought of the perfect response -- after the conversation? In business, in community affairs, at home -- learn to think and speak on your feet, to respond appropriately and confidently, every time. Using proven strategies and practical examples, Marian will help you to improve your end of any conversation or interview. 'Buying Time' is the secret. Whether you need to learn to do it or just to polish your skills, improve your odds of mastering your half of communications.

50 Scientifically-Supported Techniques to Create More Confident and Compelling Speakers

No more blanking or awkward silences. No more running out of things to say and struggling to keep others engaged. (1) Conversation isn’t scripted, (2) it’s 100% unpredictable, and (3) it can be terrifying at times. How do you prepare for such a thing? By learning how to apply improv comedy techniques to roll with any punch and improve your conversations and social interactions. Become quicker and more clever in daily conversation. Improv(e) Your Conversations teaches the ingenious rules of improv comedy that allow performers to turn boring prompts into memorable interactions worthy of standing ovations. This means there are real frameworks and templates to escape interview mode small talk – and start connecting and building rapport from the moment you say “Hello.” This book goes through over 15 of the most helpful and insightful improv comedy techniques with countless real-life examples to make you a great talker. Learn the conversational secrets of the world’s best comedians. Patrick King is an internationally bestselling author and social skills coach. His writing draws of a variety of sources, from scientific research, academic experience, coaching, and real life experience. Over 15 actionable tips that are actually practical and relateable. •The three easy ways to always know what to say, even when your mind goes blank. •What Sherlock Holmes has to do with great rapport. •How to read people better and what to look for. •The one goal you must always keep in mind (that you probably don’t even know). Adapt, witty comeback, reply, and charm in record time. •What causes awkward silences and how to prevent them. •How your conversation should resemble a movie. •How to “flip the switch” to be more entertaining.

How often do you think, Im just not that good of a speaker? Do you ever blame your bad listening on being overworked or stressed out? Perhaps you wish you could think and respond faster, or that you should be more yourself, and you just dont know how? Improv(e) provides you with ideas and activities that will immediately bring out your best speaking, listening, and social skills, all while helping you become your best, authentic, and unapologetic self.