From the course: How to Speak Smarter When Put on the Spot

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Step three: Reframe the circumstance

Step three: Reframe the circumstance

- [Host] And how about the third one? Serves as an opportunity. - [Guest] Yeah. So many of us, when we think about our speaking situations and we think about, oh, you've got to answer questions on the spot, for example, or somebody asks you for feedback or to introduce somebody in the moment, many of us don't say, "Oh, this is a great opportunity." We think, "Oh my goodness, I'm going to screw up. I can't believe I'm in this situation. I have to defend myself or my position." So we get very defensive, and that affects not just how we hold our bodies. We get tight and tense. Our tone gets more curt, our answers get really short and brief. We can adjust that by reframing this circumstance even in the most difficult, spontaneous speaking. Let's imagine a Q and A session where somebody is just coming at us fast, furious, spicy. We can still see that as an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to connect, an opportunity to potentially find areas to collaborate. And in so doing, it will…

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