keep going: what to do in the second after you make a mistake while speaking
You say "he" instead of "she", or "last year" when you meant "next year", or the word simply vanishes. The mistake itself lasts half a second. What happens in the next second decides whether anyone remembers it.
By Brightside English editorial team
Reviewed by a Brightside senior coach · · 2 min read
Most listeners barely notice a small slip. What they notice is the reaction. Pause for a breath. If the mistake changes the meaning, correct it in a few words. If it does not, let it go. Then carry on from your next sentence, at the same pace.
What we see in coaching
A very common pattern in our sessions: someone is speaking well, makes one small error, and then the next two minutes fall apart. A sales manager in Bengaluru says "fifteen" instead of "fifty", apologises three times, loses her thread, and rushes the rest of the pitch. A student presenting in Doha forgets a word, says "sorry, my English", and spends the rest of the talk looking at the floor.
The mistake was small. The spiral was large. The listener remembers the spiral.
The technique: pause, fix or drop, continue
- Pause. One breath. It stops the rush and looks deliberate.
- Fix it, or drop it. Ask one question: does this change the meaning? A wrong number, name or date does. Fix it in a few words. A grammar slip or a mispronounced word usually does not. Let it go.
- Continue. Pick up from the next sentence, at the same pace and volume as before.
"That's fifty, not fifteen. Fifty units by March."
"The word has gone. The point is, the second option is cheaper."
What not to do: apologise more than once, comment on your English, or start the whole section again.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| "Sorry, sorry, I mean... sorry." | "Fifty, not fifteen." |
| "Sorry, my English is not good." | "Let me put that another way." |
| "Let me start again from the beginning." | Carry on from the next sentence. |
Published by The Full Stop, the journal of Brightside English. Reviewed by a Brightside senior coach. Corrections: see our editorial standard.