0:00
The next kind of mistake you can make is a substance mistake where
there's a problem with your logic or with your factual data.
And there are three ways they can go.
The first way is that you are the only person noticing the mistake.
For example, you look at your slide and you see that, my God,
this is totally wrong, I confused two slides.
And if you think that's important, I think it's worth bringing that up.
I think you should actually ask your audience for
forgiveness, tell them that, my God, totally confused, those slides,
they should be the other slide, I will correct it when I email those
slides to you, there's going to be a slightly different slide here.
So, go ahead and correct yourself.
Otherwise, just let it go, relax.
Now the second scenario is when somebody in the audience mentions your mistake but
brings it up only during the Q and A, not during the actual presentation.
And the third way that can go, and this is by far the worst possible scenario,
is when somebody, or maybe the whole group, sees your mistake and
prevents you from continuing before that mistake or
misunderstanding has been clarified.
And, well, we will deal with that later,
we will deal with that in part 4 where we're going to talk about Q&A's,
dealing with hecklers and with aggressive audiences,
there's some science to it, it's doable, it can be done.
Well, sometimes the mistake is so crucial that your presentation ends right here,
but this is seldom if ever true.
That said, I have to tell you that you need to really check your facts and logic.
I mean, please do convince yourself before trying to convince others.
If you want to sound convincing, be convinced, check your facts and logic.
2:09
Next thing is a formal mistake you can make.
Mistake of form, that is, I don't know, a misspelled word or
wrong labeling on the X's or something like that.
Now, unless you are presenting in a very formal context, that wouldn't matter,
seriously, most of the time is just, why are we even paying attention to them?
Now, some people are surprisingly, should we say, inquisitive.
They will take the trouble and they will raise their arm or
just shout from the wording saying, the word is misspelled.
2:49
And you have to have a routine, actually having routines for
mistakes is a really good idea.
I invite you to watch a presentation by the Raspyni Brothers to have some actual
presentation, it's a juggling performance.
And watch what happens when they drop props,
which they do even though this is a step, should be perfect but
it's not, and they actually drop things on the floor.
And just have a look at what they do.
That's not a juggling performance at TED by Michael Motion,
I think, and he just picks up the ball.
There is no routine, he just stays cool and just picks up the ball,
which is so amazing.
But those Raspyni Brothers, they are not just jugglers, they are comedians.
So they have a funny little routine, a play
even, to sort of accommodate this mistake.
3:47
But let me show you my routine,
what I do when somebody points out a spelling mistake to me.
What I do, first, I check with the audience.
I you ask, is it really a mistake?
Because sometimes I'm not sure.
And the audience says, yeah, yeah, it should be corrected.
So what I do, I go to my computer and then I hit escape, and then I correct the word.
And then I just hit play slideshow from the selected slide, and
I resume my presentation.
And let me tell you, I almost get applaused for that.
It's amazing how well that works.
I don't know why people are so surprised, but
I guess it's a rare thing people admitting their mistakes on stage.
So do make mistakes, even deliberately sometimes.
I think what happens is this moment of co-creation,
you and me working together as a team,
me recognizing your input, I think this is what happens.
So, do make mistakes even deliberately.
I'm sorry for the psychologist reference, I wasn't able to find the original paper.
But there was an experiment by Ellen Langer who
used to be a very famous researcher somewhere at or something,
she's still alive but she's doing something else right now.
And it was a public speaking experiment.
And there were three groups speaking on the three different conditions.
To the first group, she told that mistakes are bad,
mistakes are there to be punished.
To the second group, she said that forgiveness condition, mistakes
are there to be forgiven, so go ahead and make mistakes, it wouldn't matter.
And to the third group, she said that,
you know what, go and make mistakes deliberately.
And then incorporate them as a part of your presentation,
which is precisely what I'm recommending.
And of all the three groups, the last group was the most successful.
It was the most composed,
the most efficient, it was judged as the most intelligent group, and
they themselves were the most comfortable while making a presentation.
And it makes total sense, this is how things should really work in reality.
So bad news, you will make mistakes.
Good news are that most of the time it just doesn't matter.
For you is just an opportunity to crack a joke,
to do this little routine you've prepared precisely for that occasion.
So go ahead and make interesting mistakes.
Alexei KapterevLomonosov MSU BS
