Hey its Min from the Art of Verbal War
where people learn to excel in verbal skills.
So, today we're going to talk about "How to Think on Your Feet"
One of the most ESSENTIAL life skills.
One that as a corporate lawyer, I have to bring everyday, one that I have to constantly nurture
because its essential to MY survival in my career and my work.
So, last night I was watching the pilot episode of "Suits"
So there's a scene where Harvey Specter ,who's the main character of the show, is recruiting for a new associate
and he's interviewing Harvard Law School graduates. At one point, he comes out of the interview room
He looks totally defeated. He's interviewed about ten different people from Harvard Law School
and he doesn't like any of them.
Because he thinks they're stiff and because he didn't actually want to go to the recruiting event.
So he tells Donna, who's his assistant, to screen candidates before she sends them in.
And he tells Donna
"Give them a hard time and give me a wink if somebody says anything clever."
So let me tell you my friends, this is very consistent with reality.
I know on TV shows, things are a little more dramatized.
So, when I was a young lawyer, maybe 2-3 years out of law school
interviewing for jobs, I had met with the CEO and head portfolio manager of a hedge fund.
And he comes in, and I'm sitting there, he doesn't shake my hand
he sits down, takes a glance at my resume,
and kind of tosses it aside,
and then he says "You have two minutes to impress me. Go."
And at that time, I totally didn't expect that and I had never been in an interview like THAT.
And so I didn't get the job because I wasn't prepared for that.
And also at the time, I wasn't
very good at thinking on my feet.
So let's talk about how to think on your feet.
So #1, the most important thing before we get to WHAT to say is
You have to start expecting that people will put you on your heels in life.
Not just in interviews, business, or work
but even in relationships, so you have to expect that
and start accepting the fact that you WILL be put in these situations.
And that's okay! In fact, start looking at
these "negative" situations as OPPORTUNITIES
pretty much as opportunities to look cool.
#2, when somebody fires something at you that puts you back on your heels, remember to maintain
what I call "The Winner's body language".
You're not going to slump over
You're not going to lose eye contact
and you're not going to show in any way that you've been thrown off.
And #3, let's talk about what to say.
So, let's go back to the pilot episode of Suits.
Where Harvey asked Donna to pre-screen the candidates before she sends them back to the interview room.
So, Donna meets with the first candidate and says
"So...Chip...why should Iet the whitest person I've ever seen into this room?"
And the guy is totally thrown off
"Uh...uh...uh"
"Because I have an appointment?"
So, when Harvey comes out
he's looking at her like...
and Donna's face is like "Nooooo way...."
And Harvey is like "Oh great..."
So, he meets with that guy and sends him out quickly.
So, what do you think Chip should have done instead?
The key to these kind of situations
is to "roll with the punches".
Instead of just replying logically which is what he did "Uh...because I have an appointment?"
So, instead of doing that, you want to reply illogically. You don't want to reply directly to the accusation or attack that
they make. All you're trying to do is to show that you're confident and that you can roll with the punches
and come up with something clever to say.
It doesn't have to be amazing, but don't fall into the trap of responding directly.
So Chip could have just said something like
"Well, we don't have to go in there. We can just do the interview out here."
Simple as that.
Okay, so let's talk about the second candidate that Donna meets.
So, the guy comes strolling in and Donna says "What's wrong with you? You look like you're 11 years old!"
And the guy responds like this
"Well, I was late to puberty".
He's like totally hurt by what Donna said and he's totally thrown off, so again Harvey comes out and Donna's like "Uh uh".
Harvey's like "Great...yet another stiff".
He could've just said something silly like this
to show that he was rolling with the punches:
"Oh wow, these diapers work great! I'm still fresh and dry after that comment!"
So, remember...people will always try to throw you off in these situations.
They don't do it just because they're jerks, they do it because they want to test your wit, they want to test your cleverness, and test your poise most importantly.
Alright that's it for today, I hope that was helpful.
Remember, roll with the punches!
And keep being excellent. And please subscribe to this YouTube channel.