Last week we debuted our new feature Ask Blue. Due to time constraints, we decided to record it. We called into our Instant Teleseminar line, I had Command Central all hooked up, the slides were loaded, sound check was fine and we were ready to go.
The start was a little rocky, I forgot a few things—mainly telling the audience who I was—and didn’t even get a clue when after introducing Wendi and hearing her say, “Hello to you too, Deborah Dorchak!”
Not a biggie, very minor in the major scheme of things. We kept rolling along with our usual informative banter.
Suddenly the conference line goes dead.
Now, for many of you, you’re used to working alone. For me, I’m used to having Wendi there to play off of and when she unexpectedly disappears I’m left with a few seconds of panic, my brain shouting, “Now what the hell do I do??”
Still, no major worries. We had our notes, blogging is a subject I know a lot of so…just continue talking. Right?
Nope.
Turns out my internet decided to go kaput. I looked over at the router and saw all the happy blinking lights had gone dark.
Great.
What followed was a quick call on the cell to Wendi and then one to my cable provider. Granted, none of this was live, for which I thank the Powers That Be, because with Command Central down, Wendi would have been left on her own and would have had to get into the control panel and figure out how to run the seminar.
In the end, we scrapped the first try and started over after the internet un-borked itself. But this brings up a good point about speaking in general, whether it’s online or in person. The point being: Always expect the unexpected.
Even the Pros Have Problems
Our little speed bump was by no means a disaster of epic proportions, some people, like our beloved coach, Ali Brown, have had far worse (you can read about them here). While problems like ours and Ali’s are something you can definitely laugh about later on, they’re horrible while you’re in the moment and they’re happening.
And no matter who you are, or how long you’ve been doing public speaking, anything that can go wrong, will.
Five Quick Tips For Keeping Your Cool
- Remember: It’s not the end of the world. Okay, so you ran into a glitch. You’re human, your technology is not. Your audience is also human. Chances are, someone can relate to what you’re going through. The world won’t come to a crashing halt just because your media did.
- Laugh and the World Laughs With You. Embarrassed? Laugh. Find the humor in the situation. Joke about it with your audience. They’re as uncomfortable as you are, and they may want to laugh…unless you’ve fallen off the stage and broke something…but even then, I would probably give them a “It’s just a flesh wound.” and try lightening an otherwise very serious situation.
- Do Over! Start over if you can. Admit you got off to a rough start, it’s not working, and you’d like to start over. Now that the “worst” has happened, you can often move past it and continue with confidence.
- Have a Backup. To borrow from Ali’s post, yes, have a backup plan. When Plan A fails, you’ve got 25 more letters to go through. Not that you have to come up with 25 alternatives. Please don’t. That’s just scary. Have one good backup plan you can rely on and you’ll be golden.
- Teamwork Helps. As I mentioned before, not everyone has a partner to work with. While it’s good to know and understand the tech aspect of your presentations, it may not be your genius work. Having an extra set of hands there to help is always a good idea, especially when your speaking engagements get larger and larger. If you’re just starting out, ask friends to volunteer their help. As you grow, you’ll want to hire a technical team to cover the sound and back end of the event so you can concentrate on what you do best.
Nothing ever goes as planned, it’s true, but that’s no reason to be unprepared. The show must go on! And it will—it’s only a matter of how. Handle it with grace, humor and confidence, and the how becomes a moot point. Never forget, you got this.
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I was feeling the stress right along with you there, Deb! Good advice on preparing for a breakdown as well as smooth sailing. These days we are so used to technology that we forget it doesn’t always work.
So true. And it always fails at the most inopportune moment. But we will persevere!
Ah, technology! We love it when it works and when it doesn’t, it can be the most frustrating experience ever. Your tips for keeping cool really are important, and proven, as we grow our businesses and use technology in more ways to reach more people. Thanks for being so transparent about your experience so we can learn from it!!
There’s humor in everything and I figure if Ali can share some of her most embarrassing moments, we could too. If W.C. Fields were alive today, I’m sure he’d add technology to his quote about working with animals and children.
I can feel for everyone who deals with technology and a live audience. This is not something we have to deal with, but its good to know to always have a backup plan and expect the unexpected.
It doesn’t always have to be with a live audience, Jill. I’m sure you and Dwayne have some behind the scenes stories you could share!
Oh my goodness … It’s nice to know we’re not alone! I love posts like these because it shows we’re all human, we all have mishaps and things go awry … it’s how we handle it that makes us!
We’re never alone. People share more experiences than they realize. 🙂 I bet you have some stories too, Jennifer. You do quite a bit of public speaking.