Thursday, November 10, 2011

Don't Suffer

What happened to Rick Perry in last night's debate is a speaker's nightmare - a brain freeze followed by 43 agonizing stammering seconds.

If this gaffe brings him down, it won't be because he forgot the name of the Department of Energy. It will be because of his response.

Rather than moving on with confidence and ease, Perry suffered - and the audience suffered with him.

From the Green Room: Face it - You will mess up. What matters is how you bounce back. Never suffer. Emotions are contagious and your audience will suffer as well. Keep your confidence. Keep your cool. And move on.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent advice. Am wondering if you agree with some public speaking specialists who've said that it's just best to avoid stating in advance the number of things you're going to list, name, explain, etc.

Sarah Gershman said...

Thank you for your question. I don't agree. I think it's a good idea to state the number - and an even better idea to state the number 3 - as long as you are prepared. Of course if you are unprepared, stating specific numbers of things is a bad idea.