The moment we all dread. People are staring and you can’t remember what you wanted to say. During a live presidential candidate debate, Governor Rick Perry started to list the three presidential cabinets he would eliminate if elected. Number one, the Department of Commerce, number two Energy, and number three… Even with three tries the Governor couldn’t come up with the third. Oops!
Be forewarned, trying to remember lists is always tricky.
Here’s what to do:
- Don’t try to memorize. Memorized speeches almost always sound robotic.
- Practice aloud several times in advance so you become familiar with the content flow.
- If you go blank, pause, look down at your notes and continue on with the next point. The audience doesn’t know what you planned to say so they won’t miss anything.
- If you’ve left out something important work it in at the end or during the question and answer session.