Here's how you can maintain motivation and positivity when a presentation goes awry.

When presentations hit a snag, it’s crucial to stay calm. Take a deep breath and remember most issues aren’t as catastrophic as they seem. Audience will follow the lead, so a composed demeanor keeps them engaged. Use humor if appropriate, or acknowledge the issue and move on. Staying poised under pressure is a valuable professional skill.

It can be really challenging to find the calm space in your mind to take a breath, take a beat, and not panic when suddenly technology lets you down or you lose your train of thought. If you've done your homework and practiced, being able to laugh about the hiccup or give yourself a moment to collect yourself by saying something like "I'm so enthusiastic about this, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back a few seconds..." can help you feel back in control and help your brain reset to presentation mode. And sometimes you just have to acknowledge that you're having a human moment and need a minute. Most of us are more then willing to give a speaker that grace and understanding, as we've all experienced something not going as planned.

A Presentation Skills teacher once told me to imagine the worst possible case: your slides aren't working at all. For the vast majority of presentations, you'd still be able to do it. As such, if you're already (mentally) prepared for the worst, anything that happens will seem simple.

The best presenters face audiences from time to time that they fail to charm. It never gets easier to have egg on your face. But if you prepare you can always leave a disastrous presentation as a better presenter since now you know better. Identify gaps during dry runs and acknowledge that you might be blindsided. Prepare a plan of action if it happens. Deal with objections with humility and patience, stay curious and ask questions, acknowledging inputs from audience. You can move to a different section if possible. Staying calm is easier said than done and body language is hard to master, but the more we practice the better we are sure to get.

Remember, we are human, and making mistakes is natural. What truly matters is learning from them. During your presentation, keep in mind that the audience understands the pressure you're under and won't judge you solely on your mistakes. Strive to give your best effort, learn from any missteps, and commit to not repeating them in the future. These are all valuable steps in our journey through life.

I’ve made mistakes in presentations, so many of them! But what works for me is quick humour to acknowledge the issue: mispronunciation, wrong slide, lack of connect or whatever it could be. Letting people laugh at (with) me, allows me a moment to gain composure.

I personally think, mistakes are a part of life and they provide opportunities to learn.For instance, I once faced a situation where my presentation slides lacked enough detail to fully explain the concept.Instead of being flustered, I focused on my narrative and engaged audience through storytelling.This not only kept their attention but also allowed me to covey my message effectively. Presentations should make audiences understand our story, it should be focused on engaging and making involved in the story.Acknowledging the issue but maintaining to continue, being prepared for unexpected challenges can lead to innovative thinking, stories and new ideas. This shows adaptability to situation and keeping motivated.

Stay focused on what lies ahead. Don't let past setbacks weigh you down. Even if a previous section didn't go as planned, there's still an opportunity to excel in the remaining parts. By regaining your composure and concentrating on the present, you can still deliver a stellar performance. Remember, what's already happened is immutable, but what's ahead offers a chance to make a positive impact.

I always starts 2 ways comm when things going not as planned during presentation. Try divert topics a bit to something close to audience while you orchestrating new plan to ensure the objective can be addressed.

Mistakes happen, even during presentations. The key is not to panic, but to quickly assess the situation and find a solution. By staying calm and focused, you can prevent a small mishap from ruining your entire presentation. Remember to always be prepared and adaptable, and don't let a minor mistake get in the way of delivering a successful presentation.

Turning a negative situation into a positive one isn't a big task, Acknowledging the situation calms the audience and provides space to get back on track. For instance, if your visuals malfunction but your storytelling captivates, highlight that strength. Remain composed, perhaps make a humorous remark about your “invisible visuals,” and engage with the audience to keep their interest. Focus on your strong points, adjust as needed, and use your expertise to keep the audience part of your presentation. This strategy not only rescues the moment but also enhances your confidence and resilience for future challenges.

I agree. A good storyteller is always prepared and has a story ready for any situation, whether good or bad. You lose the battle when you focus too much on the tactics rather than the content. In situations like this, I would move on quickly and narrate a story that resonates with the audience in that moment. If technology fails completely, I would rely on my memory and talk through the key points.

Working remotely, we’ve all experienced Teams or Zoom meetings that don’t proceed as we hope or plan. One way to keep positive when a virtual presentation isn't working properly is to acknowledge the technical glitches. Everyone in the meeting saw what transpired, so own the glitch, and add humor to the situation. Remaining positive in the negative helps to keep your focus and aides in the elimination of the ‘elephant in the room’ to the attendees.

Find the silver lining. Maybe the hiccup made your presentation more memorable. Example: If your demo crashed, say, “Well, at least we know our software is real-time!”

It is very important to take every deviation positively which may or may not flow smoothly, so while negatively being questioned could gauge a postive out put if we react positively.

Afterall its all about learning something each day so no matter what mistakes we make what challenges we face, never to loose sight of what actually matters.

A presentation can falter due to your mistakes or factors beyond your control. If it's your error, acknowledge it and move on. For minor flaws, make light of them; for major ones, apologize and refocus on valuable content. If the issue is beyond your control, engage the audience and adapt. Remember, presenting is challenging, and your audience understands this. Show that you value their time and opinions, and strive to improve next time.

Ao meu ver o erro é o ponto de partida para o aprendizado, temos que ter humildade de reconhecer nossas limita??es e aí estabelecer estratégias para melhorá-las.. é aquela coisa de irmos melhorando gradativamente.

Don’t wallow! Identify the issue and make a plan to avoid or handle the issue in the future. Use it as a learning experience and let it make you better.

You always have to remember - what makes you human is your flaws! To acknowledge, review and grow from something as trivial as a presentation gone awry gives confidence to handle bigger problems. To acknowledge is to accept, and that is the most important factor for any error - there is always always room for growth!

The best thing you can do when it doesn't quite go to plan is ask those around you what you can improve on, so that next time you're even more prepared and better at what you're doing

Be humble enough to seek feedback from peers, seniors and other attendees. Seeking feedback is the first step of improvement. Through seeking feedback, we understand what we're our pitfalls. A wide professional mind can always practice more with the available feedback and do the presentations in a more better way. This is how the transition from beginners to experts.

Improvement is impossible without recognizing our missteps. Presentations are a form of art—unique and subjective. Should you sense a setback, solicit feedback from your team and the audience. Standing before an unfamiliar crowd is commendable on its own. Embrace feedback after every presentation; it’s the key to making each subsequent one more effortless and impactful.

Your presentations grow with time. Therefore, you need some reflection about your way of presenting information: - your own reflection is the fastest and easiest to collect - ask some people from the audience (e.g. prepare an online questionnaire that you show on your last slide) Don’t judge feedback but include them in a neutral way. As for your personal style: - you should try and ask someone more experienced than you (maybe your mentor) and with time include some of his/her advice (always one after the other) This way you will notice your presentations but mainly your way of presenting information will improve and change significantly.

Breathe and be kind to yourself. Remember things are usually not as bad as your emotions are telling you in the moment when things aren't going according to plan. Also, chances are there are people in your audience who can relate to what you're going through from their own experience. You're human after all. After your presentation and some reflection on how to improve future presentations, don't ruminate on what went wrong. Do something that energizes you (music helps me. Journey, anyone? Really, Don't Stop believin'). You have much to offer and people are waiting to learn from you. Stay strong and keep moving forward. You've got this!

If you've already done the above and got the right feedback, then moving forward should be easy. Accept that what happened, happened. Chances are it's not the end of the world and chances are you won't do it again next time. "Why do we fall...?"

If you can schedule a "re-do," mention it before the end of the presentation. You can mention that it seems the presentation isn't working. Determined where the breakdown is. Mention it. Then schedule another go.

People don't remember your mistake one week after. Identify the issue, learn your lesson, and move forward. It is not the end of the world and you only get better by making mistakes.

Don’t dwell on mistakes. Focus on your next steps. Example: Your webinar had connectivity issues. Instead of dwelling, plan a flawless follow-up session.

Embrace it! Make it part of the show! When there is a hiccup, something does not go as planned, an audience member says or does something I wasn’t expecting—whatever!—I roll with it and integrate the moment into the presentation. And it is SO MUCH FUN when it happens! I tell the audience “No matter how long I’ve been doing this, how many times I’ve done it, or how much I prepare, there always comes a moment in my presentation when it completely falls apart. And this my friends, is that moment.” Everyone completely CRACKS UP! And they do so because, by then, I’ve established myself as a prepared and confident speaker, and I have given them tons of value. So, anything that happens, they are on my side and loving every moment! Embrace it!

I recall a presenter pausing for a moment and saying, "I need to take a break. How about we take 15?" She was exhausted and had lost her train of thought. She needed a break and took it, returning to the presentation fresh-faced and focused. It was a great example for me to follow. Sometimes, it doesn't go as planned. It's ok to show your humanness and take a break if you need one. You'll show up as a stronger presenter because of it!

There is no need to worry if your presentation didn't went well. I had this moment when I stuttered and it was all due to my nervousness. Now instead of worrying about it, do understand that it happens, especially when you aren't used to of it. People there might not have even noticed your mistakes as not everyone takes care of every minor detail as much as we worry about. And even if they have, they aren't going to remember this for lifetime. So, first of all, don't worry about all what happened. Don't think about it....but yes do reflect back on where you went wrong. And I can assure you that the next time you'll present, it will be much much much better than the previous presentation.