Have you ever had a thought but, for some reason, you held back from saying it because you were unsure how it would land or how the conversation would continue afterwards?
So how can you buy some extra time to do the deeper thinking?
Two ways we can overcome this are (1) to plainly ask for time to think more deeply and (2) take that cue to ask more questions that get both you and the other person to explore a topic more deeply.
We can feel under pressure sometimes to give a clever-sounding, super strategic, or insightful response in the heat of the moment because we think that is what is expected. And then you feel you’ve committed to a line of thinking that you now have to stick with (even if it’s half-baked). Sound familiar?
Try adding this phrase to your repertoire. Buy yourself some time to properly consider your position, response or approach that has the benefit of reflection and even time for exploratory conversations to gather perspectives.
