Presentation Skills using Leadership Critical Thinking
There is almost nothing worse then losing your train of thought when speaking unless it is when you are speaking to your Board of Directors or like my Dad when he introduced my Mom, his fiancee’, at their engagement party and forgot her name!! (We all laugh about it now as they have been married 50 years but surprisingly Mom doesn’t join in the laughter!)
Your audience is far more forgiving than you think. The problem isn’t that you forget, it is how you respond to forgetting.
Most people look shocked, stutter, and then stare at their audience. This creates an awkward tension that strings between you and the audience. They don’t know if you want them to help out, if you are lost, or if….
So here is what you do next time it happens– Simply look down at the floor, regain your thoughts, and then look up at the audience and continue.
They will have no idea if you forgot something or if you are giving great weight to your thoughts.
Don’t make it a bigger deal then it is, just go with it!
Take Action! Move people to Action the next time you speak!
This is really good advice. In truth the audience doesn’t know anything unless you let them know it – so assume you are in control even when you aren’t.