Picture Credit: Tammy McConaty
Check out my TEDx talk by clicking here.
This is Episode 13 in my TEDx journey series. In case you missed them, here are the previous entries:
- Episode 1: My Secret to Becoming a TEDx Speaker: The Event Theme
- Episode 2: How I Became a TEDx Speaker: Getting The Acceptance Letter
- Episode 3: Why I Hated My First TEDx Talk Draft: What Was Missing
- Episode 4: Why My Second TEDx Draft Was Worse Than The First
- Episode 5: My TEDx Draft 3: Even Worse than Versions 1 and 2
- Episode 6: My TEDx Draft 4: How I Completely Overhauled My Talk
- Episode 7: How to Write a TEDx Talk You’re Proud Of: The Final Draft
- Episode 8: How I Rehearsed (Unconventionally) For My TEDx Talk
- Episode 9: What to Do The Day Before Your TEDx Talk: Master the Venue
- Episode 10: How I Freaked Out Right Before Giving My TEDx Talk
- Episode 11: The Gamble I Took with My TEDx Opening Story
- Episode 12: The Number One Tip for Writing a TED Style Talk
After going through building presentations, many of my clients ask: “I get how to make content now. But how do I build confidence in my delivery?”
They want me to teach them tips and tricks – all the best practices to do on stage, on camera, or in the meeting room.
I tell them “hold on”. Confidence is not just knowing “what to do”.
It’s knowing what to do “when things go wrong”.
In this article I’ll overview how to handle “mistakes” on the presentation stage, and how I handled all the mistakes during my talk for TEDx Logan Circle.
1. First, you need to prepare for critical situations
There are big things that can go wrong for any talk. And if you don’t have a backup plan, no matter how experienced you are, it can really mess you up.
For example, my TEDx talk relied heavily on using an electronic piano
It is the centerpiece of my personal story, and I use it several times to play musical examples.
- What if it broke?
- Would I just skip it?
- Would I just say: “Sorry there was supposed to be piano but you can imagine…”
That would be the best way to disappoint my audience.
No, I had to have a backup plan: if the piano broke, I planned to use my voice instead.
- Rather than play a “happy” sound, “sad” sound, “concerning” sound, and “surprising” sound on piano, I’d say a line of text like:
“He lost his job”
And I’d say it in a “happy” tone, “sad” tone, “concerning” tone, and “surprising” tone. (Not as fun as music, but still pretty cool!)
What if my slides broke? (Something a lot of us worry about in business)
Then I had to be ready to present without them: I rehearsed a version of my talk with slides, and also without them, just to be ready for anything.
2. Second, have a default plan for smaller “mistakes”
Outside the catastrophic glitches and tech breaks, small bumps in the road might happen throughout your talk:
For example, right here at 2:35, I completely forgot I was wearing a microphone
The bulky transmitter was in my right back pocket. And when I sat to play piano, I felt it crunch.
This could have gone many different ways:
- I could have freaked out and jumped out of my seat
- I could have pulled the transmitter out of my pocket and looked at the audio team to make sure it was still working
But I chose to do nothing.
I just. kept. playing.
At 5:51 in my talk, my piano didn’t make any sound:
Again, instead of freaking out, I just kept going.
And thankfully…it turned on.
At 8:06 in my talk, I almost tripped over a wire:
But instead of freaking out, I again – just. kept. going.
The lesson: If you don’t dwell on the moment, no one will know it’s a “mistake”.
*3. Bonus: “Mistakes” are not mistakes unless you make them so
I’ve been putting mistakes in “quotes” throughout this article because I believe there is no such thing.
When things don’t go according to plan, that’s your chance to make them better.
Imagine these 2 scenarios:
- Flawless presenter who gives an extremely clean performance with not a hair out of line
- Presenter whose slides unexpectedly break – and they furiously whip out an easel to draw all their ideas instead.
Which one would you remember more?
If you apply tips 1 and 2 – you have all your backup plans in place, and you smoothly adjust as needed without breaking stride – you’re in a great position to add humor on top.
If at 5:51 my piano stopped working completely:
I had no need to panic:
- I had a backup in place (using vocal inflection instead of piano music).
- And I had a default response in place (just keep going).
As a cherry on top, I could make the moment fun by looking at the piano angrily and saying:
“Well, that’s the end of my TEDx talk!”
And smoothly slide into my backup plan right after.
Remember: you can’t avoid mistakes. It’s about knowing what to do when they happen.
Now that we’ve covered how to create a great presentation introduction, and a great presentation body (with respect to both content and delivery), let’s finally move to creating a great presentation conclusion!
Coming up next in the series is Episode 14: “How to Make Your TEDx Talk Ending Unforgettable”...
Before getting to the end of the series, you can also check out the TEDx talk below!
