Friday, June 23, 2006
Losing your place or forgetting what to say
It takes three to 10 seconds to find your place and listeners are willing to wait since this has happened to them, too. Stop, look over your outline in silence and then go on.
You can say,
“Just a moment, let me find my place.”
You can repeat what you just said to get your mind back on track.
You can smile and say, “Just a moment.” and check your notes.
Slow down.
“Haste makes waste.”
No one has your notes and knows what you had intended to say.
If you want to make yourself crazy while you are actually speaking, allow your mind to punch you around when you’ve lost your place or forgotten what you had intended to say.
“Oh no, I’ve lost my place, they think I’m incapable, this is terrible”
is not helpful. This thinking causes your heart to beat rapidly, you stomach to turn and your mind to be less creative to think on your feet.
It takes three to 10 seconds to find your place and listeners are willing to wait since this has happened to them, too. Stop, look over your outline in silence and then go on.
You can say,
“Just a moment, let me find my place.”
You can repeat what you just said to get your mind back on track.
You can smile and say, “Just a moment.” and check your notes.
Slow down.
“Haste makes waste.”
No one has your notes and knows what you had intended to say.
If you want to make yourself crazy while you are actually speaking, allow your mind to punch you around when you’ve lost your place or forgotten what you had intended to say.
“Oh no, I’ve lost my place, they think I’m incapable, this is terrible”
is not helpful. This thinking causes your heart to beat rapidly, you stomach to turn and your mind to be less creative to think on your feet.
