Identifying the human skills that stop disaster and maintain momentum
Written by Dan Parry • 17 June, 2026
Interpersonal Communication Skills Article
Thinking on your feet involves responding to unexpected situations or challenges. By keeping a cool head and controlling your immediate response, you can calmly manage the moment – solving problems, communicating clearly, and making decisions. Here’s how to get started.
Thinking on your feet means responding effectively in the moment, usually without the time or space to carefully prepare a comment, decision, or course of action. Rather than giving in to a knee-trembling urge to clutch your hair and look for the exit, thinking on your feet helps you stand your ground.
Thinking on your feet is necessary when you’re under pressure, perhaps during negotiation, in a difficult conversation, or in a Q&A session. It’s a skill that can rescue you from tricky moments, for example when plans change suddenly or problems emerge without warning.
People who are able to accurately assess what is happening and respond with good judgement develop a reputation for staying level-headed in a crisis – an attribute that leads to recognition and reward.
Most examples of thinking on your feet involve a little firefighting. Difficult moments can lead to a rising sense of alarm and perhaps even heat from other people. These reactions can act like a smokescreen, obscuring clear thoughts and solutions. They can be triggered by everyday workplace situations such as:
Handling a difficult client – perhaps someone who raises an unexpected challenge in a meeting or on a call.
Answering awkward questions during a presentation – involving data you don’t have or can’t reveal.
Managing a technical failure – the video won’t play, or the conference platform crashes.
Responding to the unexpected – a client or colleague suddenly challenges or alters a proposal.
Covering for an absent colleague – you’re asked to answer questions on their work with little notice.
Navigating a difficult conversation – a colleague becomes defensive, upset, or confrontational.
Making decisions under pressure – a deadline changes, a supplier lets you down, or a project risk emerges.
Representing the team unexpectedly – you’re introduced to an important stakeholder with no warning.
In each of these examples, the challenge usually isn’t a lack of knowledge. It’s the ability to manage emotion, hold on to confidence and use it to communicate clearly.
You’re not looking to solve deep-seated problems. You’re just trying to buy some time, restore order, and get through the moment so that the project remains on course, your team is protected, and things are less combustible than they might have been.
When everyone is staring at you, waiting for your considered opinion, there’s no chance to quickly grab one from a chatbot. All you can rely on are your wits.
Fortunately, self-confidence is something that you can develop in advance. It involves recognising (and accepting) that you already possess skills that are essential for thinking on your feet. These include mental agility, emotional control, active listening, critical thinking, and communicating clearly.
Together, these abilities can help you to navigate uncertainty, build credibility, and maintain momentum when a difficult situation starts unravelling. Bringing them together is a skill that can be developed through practice.
The first step is to build confidence in speaking without a script, for example contributing in meetings, asking questions, and sharing ideas. Small moments of confident communication help develop mental agility over time.
It also helps to broaden your knowledge and experience. The more information and examples you have stored away, the more material you can draw on when responding to unexpected situations.
Active listening is just as important. It’s easy to focus so much on what you’re going to say next that you miss what’s being said. By concentrating fully on the other person, you give yourself a better chance of understanding the situation and deciding on a relevant response.
When you’re under pressure, resist the urge to answer immediately. A brief pause to gather your thoughts can make you appear thoughtful and composed, even if you don’t feel it. And this mindset often leads to a better response. You’re not looking for perfection. Thinking on your feet is about responding effectively, not flawlessly.
Jumping into a conversation can feel a little daunting. Some people make it look easy, seeming to offer clarity and suggestions in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, they’re engaging in a specific process (though they might not know it) that anyone can learn.
We’ve looked at practical steps to take. The theory behind them builds on ideas about self-acceptance. Accepting your skills and capabilities contributes to self-confidence, which is supported by accepting other things – for example facts and stats about your industry.
When you’re thinking on your feet, you’re not offering thoughts and ideas off the top of your head. They’re rooted in confidence, which at a basic level is a comfortable awareness of solid facts, both about yourself and the wider world. Thinking on your feet starts with this sense of awareness.
One of the biggest barriers to thinking on your feet is a lack of awareness which can lead to a fear of getting it wrong. When people worry about making mistakes, their thinking can lose focus. Confidence and awareness help to keep the impact of uncertainty under control.
The phrase ‘thinking on your feet’ first emerged in the late 19th century, though its origins are obscure. It captures the link between standing to talk to others and sharing meaningful thoughts, whether you’re ready to speak or not.
At Working Voices, we recognise that this ability is closely linked to presentation skills, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Our Thinking on Your Feet training course shows participants that, rather than rushing to fill silence, it’s better to absorb information, identify what matters most, and adapt their response accordingly.
With practice, confidence grows and quick thinking becomes a natural part of everyday communication. When the script disappears, thinking on your feet keeps the conversation – and the work – moving forward.
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The founder and CEO of Working Voices, Nick Smallman has been at the top of his profession for 25 years. Advising global blue-chip clients on engagement, productivity, and retention, he counsels leaders on increasing revenue via simple cultural adjustments.
Overseeing the successful expansion of Working Voices across the UK, the US, Asia, and the Middle East, Nick supports the leadership and communication capabilities of clients in a wide range of sectors. In particular, he has advised companies such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Sony, Nomura, M&S, and Blackrock for more than 15 years.
Developing his reputation for thought leadership, in recent years Nick has been leading work on The Sustainable Human, the subject of his forthcoming book. A concept unique to Working Voices, The Sustainable Human offers a package of solutions focusing on leadership enablement, future skills, and cultural harmony.
Working closely with HR specialist Mercer, Nick has developed solutions to four key modern workplace challenges:
“I’m excited to share the conclusions of three years of research that, if implemented, can make an immediate practical difference to leaders and their organisations.”
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