I completely blanked during a client presentation in Denver last month

I was in a conference room with three senior managers from a potential client, about 20 minutes into my pitch. I was explaining our project timeline when my mind just went totally empty. I forgot the next three key points I had practiced for days. There was this awful silence for what felt like a full minute, but was probably only 10 seconds. In my experience, the worst thing you can do is panic, so I took a slow breath and said, 'Let me just check my notes to make sure I cover everything accurately.' I flipped open my notebook, found my place, and picked right back up. It felt super awkward, but I got through it and we actually landed the account. Has anyone else had a moment like that and found a good way to recover without looking at notes?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleyl553mo ago

Great recovery. Asking a quick question can also buy time.

lily2303mo agoMost Upvoted

But what question do you ask?

holly_price29d ago

Oh man, that's the million dollar question right there... I usually end up blurting out something like "so what's your favorite dinosaur?" or "would you rather fight a horse sized duck or a hundred duck sized horses?" which honestly just makes things worse but at least it breaks the ice. The trick is to ask something so stupid and random that nobody can stay mad at you for blanking out.