Presentation Skills Question: Memory Loss?

Presentation Skills Question:

How do I recover from a memory lapse?


Presentation Skills Expert Answer:

There are a few techniques you can use to recover from a memory lapse.

The first thing to do is to smile and pause. When your audience sees you smiling they assume that you are in control. The pause gives you time to recover.

Pause to regain your thoughts and the attention of the audience.

Repeat that last thing you said. That might jog your memory and the audience thinks that you do that for effect.

Ask a rhetorical question, "Where do we go from here?" That question might trigger your brain to get on track. Or it might even trigger your audience to throw out some suggestions to help you.

George Torok
The Public Speaking Pro
Public Speaking Success

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Executive Speech Coach, Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives.