Nobody ever thinks that bad things will happen to good presenters. Big mistake.


Some goofs turn out to be funny-at least to the audience. Before a gathering of gregarious sales reps, I was trying to make the point that business communications are much less formal now than in past decades. "For example," I elaborated, "when you are introduced to someone, you rarely respond, 'How do you do?' Instead, you say something like, 'Hello' or 'Nice to meet you.'"


Continuing this line of reasoning, I asked the group, "And when was the last time your family dressed formally to sit down at the dinner table? Our family doesn't dress for dinner." One rep raised his hand and asked excitedly, "May we come?"


The audience roared with laughter, leaving me dumbfounded until someone in the front row pointed out to me what I'd said versus what I'd meant. Needless to say, after turning ten shades of red, I forgot where I was going with the next point.


Consider these two tips to recover from blunders without skipping a beat.


Change Locations in the Room

A location change to a speaker is like paragraphing to a writer. So it will seem quite natural to your audience that you would pause reflectively and stroll to another spot in the room to move to your next point. In the time it takes you to get there, you likely will have recovered from your memory lapse.



Jump Ahead to a Key Anecdote that Serves as a Springboard

Stories stick better than an elaboration-even with the storyteller. In telling the anecdote, you often will recall the point you intended to make by the time you get to the end of the story. And with that key point, the whole section of content will return to the forefront of your mind.


Problems-both those you can and cannot control-will happen. Do everything you can to prevent and minimize their impact. Then relax and take surprises in stride.



Who says speaking before a group isn't adventurous?