You said what? Why did you say the wrong thing when it mattered the most?
Have you ever said the wrong thing when it mattered the most? What happened there? Bad luck? When is the last time you've heard the phrase, "They stuck their foot in their mouth?" (They said something without thinking about it first.) This is exactly the self-awareness part of situational awareness. In our professional lives we get a lot further in a conversation when we seek first to understand, and then respond thoughtfully, instead of blurting out whatever comes to mind with no filter. As humans in stressful situations, we sometimes go blank in the middle of a thought, and sometimes we fill that space with nonsensical muttering when we would be better suited to close our mouths or admit aloud that we are in a stressful situation and our thoughts were overloaded, and we need a minute to collect ourselves. Problems come when we try to power-through it like Miss Utah and Rick Perry show you in the links below.
Miss UtahRick PerryGame show bad answers
So, what should we do when we get into these situations? This is a good time to employee the Human Performance tool called, "Stop When Unsure." Do you know of any other HU Tools to use at a time like this? Leave a comment, and share a story.
Click below for some tips to help you overcome your fears and shine on the stage, field, or podium:
Overcoming stage-frightA good resource to research this further: ChokeClick here if you want to know more about the "foot in mouth" phrase.