think on one's feet

The fellows read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, took an improv-themed class on how to think on one’s feet and present oneself in the workplace, and went on field trips, including to the site of the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

Part of the skill involved is being able to think on one’s feet and make those objections in a timely and accurate way to preserve them for appeal.

These interjectory phrases allude to the inability to concentrate or think on one’s feet.

“A phone scam is much more dangerous because one has to think on one’s feet,” he says.

It is best to jot down bullet points and remain flexible enough to think on one's feet, says Fox.