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BACK IN THE 1980s, I was working for an insurance company on Wall Street. This was when I was between marriages. There was a nearby bar and restaurant called Harry’s, located below street level. The bond market was going strong, so the bond salesmen with their fat paychecks were there, which meant the pretty young girls were also there.
The place reminded me of Cheers, one of my favorite TV shows. The theme song and the storylines always made me feel good. One of the show’s most memorable characters was the mail carrier Cliff “Cliffy” Clavin, played by John Ratzenberger. How he got the part has always been an inspiration to me.
Ratzenberger was auditioning for the part of Norman, the heavy-set guy who just sat at the bar and drank beer. Ratzenberger didn’t get the part. But instead of walking away, he asked the casting director if there was a bar know-it-all among the show’s characters. There wasn’t.
Ratzenberger then explained that this person, regardless of topic, always seemed to know something about the subject at hand. Thus was born the character Cliffy Clavin. If Ratzenberger had simply assumed he’d lost the part, we’d never have known Cliffy.
When I taught a Dale Carnegie course on human relations and public speaking, we’d refer to such instances as “thinking on your feet.” We’ve all experienced situations we didn’t anticipate. It’s those individuals who can shift gears, and turn the situation to their advantage, who succeed. Think of the folks who can always talk themselves out of a traffic ticket. Ratzenberger was thinking on his feet when he brought up the bar know-it-all.
I had such a moment at the end of my second year at community college, when I persuaded my guidance counselor that I’d done enough to fulfill the English requirement, an incident I described in an earlier article. Still, I’m not the greatest “thinker on my feet.”
To make the best of a bad situation, we need to feel all is not lost. Have you heard the expression “making lemonade out of lemons”? The more practice we have doing this, the easier it becomes.
Think back on times where you turned a bad moment to your advantage. Understanding how you did it will help you to repeat that way of thinking. The goal in these situations: Don’t react, think.
“Those who can adapt to change fare better!” Being able to think ahead to be prepared is a precious gift!
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Winston Churchill
I always think of the perfect thing to say in most any situation. My problem is that I think of that perfect response an hour too late.
George Costanza had that problem while stuffing his face with shrimp. “Hey George the ocean called. They are running out of shrimp.” 🙂
There is a word for that- “esprit d’escalier” (spirit of the staircase) which is a repartee thought of only too late on the way home.
Dan – Exactly! I go over the exchange in my head later (sometimes much later) and suddenly think “I should have said . . . “.
And the reverse can be true: saying the first thing that pops into your head can really get you into trouble. In my 70’s, I’m still working on thinking before I speak.
The story of my life!
Oh, me too. I consider it a win if I get through an irritating work meeting without saying what I really think. My tongue hurts from biting it so much. I’m still working on unauthorized eye rolling. I do NOT have a “poker face.”
Yea but you’re probably a lot of fun to hang out with!
I would totally hang out with Linda!