To think fast, or on one’s feet, it takes practice. To make good decisions fast doesn’t happen naturally. When we make decisions under pressure (i.e., with little to no time), we make decisions that are instinctual–intuitive.
Such decisions don’t account for all the variables or long term consequences of a situation. They are more like “survival-mode” decisions, or decisions based on what seems right at the moment. But in certain situations, they are better than not making any decision at all.
For example, we have to think fast during conversations. We ask ourselves, is what this person saying is true, or is it not true? If we’re having a debate or a discussion, we have to have practice on how to explain our ideas, how to provide evidence, how to make a case for our claim. Or if we’re on a job interview, we have to know how to respond to questions we may not have expected. And if we’re on the job and something isn’t going as planned, we have to think of another solution, one that we can’t spend days on, but only have hours to complete.
To think fast, one has to have experience, as well as the knowledge to encounter the unknown–to handle the pressure when there is very little time. Making mistakes is part of the process. It builds a repertoire of things we know not to do again. Besides, if we’re making decisions that are fast and intuitive, we need to have encountered similar situations before.
Fallton Havenstonne 