Rick Perry, the U.S. Presidential candidate, recently had an “oops” moment during a debate when he forgot what he wanted to say.
Many public speakers fear “blanking out”, which is especially likely when you’re under pressure and in the spotlight.
When Rick Perry forgot what he wanted to say, it was a very “human” moment but it may have cost him the election.
However, there are a couple of lessons that you can learn from Rick Perry’s mistake.
1. Make Good Notes
If you have time to prepare, then make a couple of notes about what you are going to say. This way, in case you forget what you were talking about, you can simply refer to your notes.
2. Arrange Your Notes Properly
It seems as though Rick Perry did have something written down. Near the end of the video, you can see him trying to shuffle through his notes but not finding what he was looking for.
Make sure your notes and all your research is well organized so that you can easily access what you’re looking for.
*****
Will the above two points prevent you (or Rick Perry) from having the “oops” moment? Probably not. However, taking the above two steps makes it less likely that you’ll make such a mistake.
If you do “blank out”, the following tip will help minimize the damage:
3. Admit Your Error
When you do make blank out (which is human), admit your mistake. Apologize and say,
“I’m sorry, I’ve blanked out. Just give me a moment to clear my thoughts”
By the way, “Ooops” is not the correct way to apologize. Rick Perry should have acknowledged his error rather than shrugging it off with an “oops”.
In the end, no matter how well prepared you are, stress can get to you and you may end up drawing a blank. It’s all a part of being human. You can however, be well prepared for such cases by:
- Making good notes
- Arranging your notes and research so you can access your information easily
- Admitting your error when you do mess up
And please leave your comments and suggestions below.
Akash, thank you for this post. I’ve been pondering myself what speakers can do when they lose their train of thought. I’m hearing today that Herman Cain had a similar blanking out experience. He could have used your advice.
Thanks Sheila!
Glad you found the post useful =)
Akash
I agree with your comments about notes however, I think that if Rick Perry really in his heart, passionately believed his message, he would not have gone blank.
For the rest of us the learning is this – only speak about what you passionately know about. Don’t fill your talk with recently researched information which is unfamiliar and difficult to recall.
Very true, Tony.
Cheers,
Akash
Hi Akash,
A nice post. We had the same idea about Perry. Here’s my take on what we can learn from this incident to add to the discussion: http://wp.me/pwfa1-20w
Cheers!
John
Thanks John!
I’ve been a fan of yours after watching your Toastmasters Humorous Speech on Youtube.
Thanks for sharing.
You have a lot of excellent, and detailed explanations on your post.
I’m looking forward to learning more from you.
Akash