Like having the answer ready with a traffic light

How to have the answer ready?

Let's look at the traffic light technique to have the joke ready in your most critical discussions.

Before evaluating whether an answer is correct, one must evaluate whether the question is correct.

Immanuel Kant

Have the joke ready it is an uncommon quality whose lack often makes us feel inadequate, however there is a very effective technique to remedy it.

I'm talking about the traffic light technique, a strategy that I have used personally and which has proved useful in various conversations.

This technique it does not require special skills, the only flaw is that, of course, we cannot predict all our conversations and therefore it turns out to be successful when we have to ask reasoned but fairly predictable questions.

At the end of the article we will see how to have the answer ready without applying particular techniques but simply leveraging your skills, but first let's start with the traffic light strategy.

The traffic light technique

The traffic light technique is an effective trick to avoid being speechless when you are expecting an important or particularly engaging response from an emotional point of view.

This technique involves prepare in advance 3 types of response attributable to the 3 colors of the traffic light.

• finanacing
• Yellow
• Red

Let's say you have to ask your boss a very important question, basically you may get three types of answers: one positive with respect to your question, one negative it's a uncertain.

The traffic light strategy plans to prepare 3 types of counter response that fit the 3 possibilities that could happen to you, but let's see an example to understand us better.

Suppose you need to ask your boss for a pay raise, you might get one of these responses:

1. Green light: you have recently increased the productivity and profit of the company, I will evaluate a possible increase with the superiors.
2. Yellow traffic light: we are going through a difficult period and you catch me unprepared.
3. Red light: don't talk about it! You get paid too much.

Obviously this is a simple explanatory example, the answers do not have to be necessarily like these, the important thing is differentiate the three colors of the traffic light.

Once you have hypothesized the 3 possible types of output from your employer, you need to find a suitable answer that satisfies you in order to have your prompt reply that goes to cover all three colors, for example:

1. Green light answer: in fact I worked hard, it would be a great gratification to have a raise and it would push me to do even more.
2. Answer to the yellow light: I asked this question because I received other interesting offers, please consider my proposal.
3. Response to the red light: I'm sorry you think this way, I worked very hard and my proposal seemed more than legitimate.

I repeat that these are hypotheses and not answers that adapt to any context, it's up to you evaluate your chances.

This strategy can be used in any conversation where there are few variables, let's see for example how to have the answer ready when you ask a person out:

1. Green light: I was waiting for you to ask me to leave a life!
2. Yellow traffic light: I don't know, I have to think about it.
3. Red light: absolutely not!

And here are some possible answers:

1. Green light answer: sorry if I made you wait, your beauty has left me speechless!
2. Answer to the yellow light: I would not want us to miss this opportunity, let's go out tonight and see how it goes.
3. Response to the red light: you do not know what you're missing!

Also in this case the answers are arbitrary and thrown a bit ironic, each situation and each person is a case in itself.

Let's now look at a long-term strategy for having the prompt reply in every situation.

How to have the answer ready at all times

As I explained, the traffic light technique is not applicable at any time in life as we generally cannot control the variables present in our conversations.

Speaking of conversations, I recommend that you read my article on effective communication.

That said, to learn like having the answer ready on every occasion it takes a lot of application and practice, there are no particular techniques like that of the traffic light but it is more a process of personal evolution.

So let's see 3 processes to set up to always have the joke ready.

# 1 Read quality books

I have talked in depth about the advantages of reading in this article: reading has multiple advantages that are also useful for learning to have the answer ready.

Reading stimulates our brain to find multiple meanings of words, boundary variables and double meanings, so as to have a greater range of choices in conversation and beyond.

If you don't know which book to start with, take a look at this page.

# 2 Train your conversation flow

Training is essential if you want to become a batting sample readyobviously speaking exclusively to be able to improve one's ability to respond requires strong motivation and could easily become boring.

However you can train yourself to have the answer ready also listening carefully to your interlocutor so as to gather more information that can be exploited to respond adequately.

In this regard, you can take a look at the article where I talked about active listening.

If you want to train this specific skill, find a friend and try throwing jokes and counter jokes following the flow of responses can be a lot of fun.

# 3 Boost your self-confidence

Cultivating self-confidence is a great way not only to reach your ideal level of self-esteem but also to improve your ability to have the answer ready at every opportunity, trusting your skills and competences.

In this regard, read the guide I wrote on how to increase self-esteem to develop self-confidence.

Now let's see the summary of the article.

Have the joke ready shortly

• Use the traffic light technique
• Prepare a funny joke in response to the jokes you get most frequently
• Use books to improve your response range
• Improve your self-esteem
• Stay calm and relaxed
• Focus on your strengths
• Connect your knowledge as Leonardo da Vinci teaches
• Take advantage of what your interlocutor says
• Train with friends to improve your response times
• Take advantage of the double meanings and multiple meanings of words

Now that you have read the article all the way you should have learned the traffic light technique to have the answer ready in critical conversations where there are few variables.

Plus you've also learned the best habits for have the answer ready in everyday life.

But most of all you have understood that to have the answer always ready you must have a lion's self-esteem.