How to Think on Your Feet & Be Articulate

--Voicemail caller wants to know how to think on his feet and be more articulate

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Broadcast on August 28, 2019

[BridgetteLeeHarding]

I’ve tried to call in several times to leave a voicemail, but I panic as soon as it’s time to speak. I totally empathize with this caller.

[nickknight]

I'm sure Ben Shapiro would disagree about the necessity of subject matter knowledge: just invent the most convenient "facts" and say them jolly quickly.

[pricardo]

The most underrated strategy to become more articulate, in my opinion, is to write.

[WickedRibbon]

Couple of tips: 1. Do some volunteer work to put yourself in social situations. There's no substitute for talking to people face-to-face.

2. Listen to podcasts. You'll very quickly start to pick up on different patterns of speech. Those people who can communicate their thoughts in a clear and engaging manner will stand out.

[RedZeshinX]

I think reading and writing helps a lot as well, not only to expand your vocabulary and get broader exposure to different styles/ideas but also to practice thinking through and organizing complex thoughts to completion.

[Kylopod]

I've been a member of Toastmasters, the public-speaking organization, for years, and one of the exercises they do is impromptu speaking where you're called up randomly from the audience and given a topic you don't know about in advance, and you have to come up with a 1-2 minute speech on the fly. I'm far from perfect at it now, but it has helped me hone the skill.

[RSanson]

I feel the same way. I'm not saying I'm as articulate as David, but I've noticed after working at Wal Mart for 4 years as a Dept Manager, I've been able to think and speak quicker and more fluid. I used to stutter slightly, but now I can't remember the last time I've stuttered. There are definitely positives to working around people most of the time as long as you're willing to be engaging.

[meredithwhite]

I have a lot of social anxiety. Something that helped for me was working as a pharmacy technician. I had to constantly deal with people being angry about their insurance and people who were confused about how it worked. When I had to call people about refilling medications, I practiced different ways of phrasing the question to make it as understandable and concise as possible.Still there were people who wanted me fired because I wouldn't break the law for them because they had 30 days of a controlled substance in 1 week.

[oldepersonne]

Work in a call center. The first 2 weeks will be pure hell but shortly thereafter you'll KNOW how to handle people for ever after

[gunner]

Be prepared and have lots of practice. Know your subject thoroughly, not just from regurgitating other people's youtube videos., but through proper in depth research. David is extremely good at this.

[Correctrix]

Most importantly, just be intelligent. David was too polite and modest to point out that that's the main reason he is articulate.

[zcorpalpha]

“ I don’t need to give a F🍇ck 😎 “

Articulate That 🤩

[cityhawk]

Understanding your limitations on certain topics is a good start. Sometimes you can get around it, sometimes you’ll hit into a brick wall. Knowing what you don’t know will help you be a more well rounded person, and understand what it is that you need to be more knowledgable on. Next, sometimes you have to get your feet into the fire. There’s no way around social contact without social contact. You could say the use of IM gets around it, but you’re not learning about one on one interaction, face to face. At some point, you’ll have to speak to someone directly. Also, don’t try to predict someone will say or how they’ll react. If it falls flat or goes nowhere, so be it, it will happen sometimes.

[MrJonathon]

Yeah practice and comfort .
Practice whenever you can. Just talk and be comfortable with your voice. I was a soft speaker before but I started being politically active and that’s how I sharpened my speech. And instead of saying “ugh” take pauses instead.

[lisakukla]

I call it social navigation, and I totally agree; I was extremely awkward my whole life until I worked retail for 3 years and as call center customer service/tech support for two years. I still don't always know exactly the right thing to say (worse during times of stress and lack of sleep), but I'm massively, exponentially improved now because of just exposure, practice and repetition. I no longer dread social situations, even with new people. I think everyone should have a couple of jobs like these early in life, for a lot of reasons, but mainly for the social navigation skills and personal development. For sure.

[alphacause]

The caller's question is particularly salient to our time. In an age of short soundbites littering all forms of popular media, and where the abbreviated style of expression normally employed in texting has crept into our day to day vernacular, the importance of the spoken and written word needs to be reemphasized.

My organization hires mostly college graduates. I am noticing - having worked there for nearly two decades after I graduated from university - how much each successive generation of college educated applicants has a harder and harder time expressing themselves clearly. Let us not even broach whether they are capable of eloquence. That is way too high of a bar for most of them. I would just like them to be coherent when expressing themselves. To compound matters, the quality of writing has greatly eroded as well among people who were supposed to have received a "higher" education.

I believe wholeheartedly that we should emphasize subjects related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), in order to stay competitive in a global market that is increasingly reliant on technology. However, I think it is becoming apparent that in our emphasis on STEM, we have neglected the language arts, much to our own detriment.We don't want to become increasingly a population of useful idiots. As George Orwell has said: "If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."

[ChadWardenPS]

David is an expert on being article and confidant

[bettyveronica]

Laser Tag....awwww. That's too adorable!

[richstarx]

Reading a lot help with being articulate

[rini]

When I was a child I was very quiet. I listened all the time. I also read a lot. As an adult I am usually articulate, even if I’m a bit nervous. If I’m comfortable it’s even easier, of course. I have, now, years of experience talking with patients which has helped. Public speaking is more difficult, but I can do it if I distract myself from my nerves.