3 Frameworks To Talk Smart On The Spot

Read Time: 3 Minutes 

Do you ever struggle to organize your thoughts quickly when you speak?

For years, I felt this way. As a marketing coordinator over 10 years ago, I felt felt anxiety before I was asked to speak in front of my colleagues. And I felt embarrassed after rambling for several minutes.

The good news is, you can train yourself to think fast and talk smart in these high-pressure moments. Once I learned these go-to frameworks to structure my responses, I felt myself becoming more eloquent at work.

In today’s issue, I’ll share my 3 favorite frameworks to sound polished and articulate when speaking off-the-cuff. But first, an important prerequisite…

Know Your Desired Outcome

For any of these frameworks to work, you need clarity on what you want to achieve with your response. There are 3 possible communication goals:

1.  Informational - What do you want them to know?  
2.  Emotional - How do you want them to feel?
3.  Actionable - What do you want them to do? 

With your objective in mind, you can then use one of these 3 frameworks to deliver a concise, compelling answer:

Framework #1: What, So What, Now What

This one works well for providing updates to your manager or exec team. The structure:

- What - In 1-2 sentences, what is the issue/topic you’re addressing? 

- So What - Why does this issue matter to your audience?

- Now What - What should the audience do or feel as a result of what you shared?

For example, let’s say you’re updating execs on a key partnership:

• What: We’re on track to ship all integrations discussed with Partner X. We’ve set up workshops to align on Integration X and committed resources to Integration Y next quarter. 
• So What: Partner X is really excited to be first-to-market with us. 
• Now What: Dave, I’d love for you to follow up with their VP of Product - would you be okay with that?”

Clear, relevant, actionable. 

Framework #2: PREP (Point, Reason, Example, Point)

PREP is great for appealing to both rational and emotional thinkers in your audience. I personally like to use this whenever I’m asked any question that I haven’t prepared for:

- Point - Your key message in one sentence 

- Reason - The rationale behind your point

- Example - Data or a story backing up your point

- Point - Restate your point and what to do/feel next

NVIDIA’s CEO shows PREP in action when asked about AI risks (2:58 - 3:44 in the video above):  

• POINT: The industry is spending the necessary time to discuss AI’s perils. There’s technology we’re creating for generative AI capabilities. 
• REASON: But we must put equal, if not more, emphasis on safe AI tech
• EXAMPLE: Guardrailing, human feedback, reinforced learning, fact-checking to prevent hallucination. The amount of work advancing in this space is extraordinary.
• POINT: I’m excited to see dedication to both generative AI and safe AI.”

He makes his point, gives a rational reason, shares examples of the work being done, and reinforces his point while transitioning to what he wants the audience to feel (excitement).

Framework #3: TOP-T (Topic, Orient, Point, Transition)  

TOP-T excels when presenting data-heavy slides. The 4 components:

- Topic - The issue you’re discussing on this slide

- Orient - Walk through what the data is showing 

- Point - The key takeaway the audience should have from the visual 

- Transition - Smoothly segue to your next slide/topic

Microsoft’s CEO uses a subtle twist on Orient when presenting the chart pictured below (5:15 - 5:50 in the video above):

• TOPIC: “AI is going to create a massive platform opportunity, and we’ve seen this before.”
• ORIENT: “If you think about it, in my 30+ years at Microsoft, I’ve lived through these three transformations. And each one of them, whether it’s the PC/SERVER, the WEB/INTERNET, MOBILE/CLOUD”
• POINT: “These have been massive in terms of creating partner innovation, partner opportunity, the composition of our partner ecosystem.” 
• TRANSITION: “Now, the question is: what happens next?”

Rather than mechanically explaining the axes, he orients through a quick personal story. This makes the data instantly relatable.  

Takeaways For This Week

Understanding how to communicate effectively in day-to-day situations is crucial to be more engaging and influential at work, and ultimately advance your career. 

If you’re preparing a short update for your team, try the What, So What, Now What framework. Keep it short (~1 minute tops).

If you’re answering any follow-up questions that you may not have prepared for, I strongly recommend the PREP framework. Keep it short too (~1 minute tops). 

If you’re presenting data on a slide, TOPT can be your best friend. 

If you found this helpful, the Impromptu Speakers Academy is my 3-week bootcamp to help you become a clear and confident speaker at work. Reserve your spot today while they’re still available.

See you next week.

Preston