As it goes- “Human is to err”! It’s completely humane to have a blank moment. As an extrovert, I’m always a bucket of ideas and thoughts. Whenever I’ve come across such a situation, I’ve always come up with impromptu ideas. It could be asking a question to the audience out of the blue, making the air light by cracking a joke relevant to the context or audience. Another idea would be to reflect upon what has been spoken so far and talk about it. Yet another strategy would be to ask a question from what has been spoken so far stating - “ I wanted to check the audience' attentiveness” with of course some humour.

Algunos consejos desde mi experiencia: - Pausa y respira: Tomate un segundo para respirar. Las pausas pueden parecer largas, pero ayudan a calmar los nervios y a pensar con claridad. - Hacé una pregunta: Si te quedas sin palabras, intenta reformular lo que ya dijiste o hacé una pregunta a tu audiencia para ganar tiempo mientras te reorganizás. - Reconocé el momento con humor: A veces, admitir que te quedaste en blanco puede romper la tensión. - Reenfócate en tu mensaje principal: Recordá el núcleo de tu discurso y regresá a ese punto central para reorientarte rápidamente.

When your mind goes blank during a speech, the best thing to do is stay calm. Take a deep breath to relax and give yourself a moment to think. If you can’t remember what to say next, try repeating the last point you made, or build audience engagement by asking them a question related to your topic. This buys you time to gather your thoughts. You can also have a quick sip of water to pause and reset. You could say something like - "allow me a moment to take a sip of water". Your audience will not mind and this will buy you some time. Going blank can happen. The key lies in handling it confidently and carrying on. Stay positive and keep your focus.

During presentations were my mind goes blank, I make a pause and, depending on the situation, I decide to play the humane card; meaning: recognizing to the audience what is happening while reconnecting my thoughts to the notes and the speech. If this is not possible/convenient, I simply take a deep breath and use those seconds to reconnect while, moving forward, I'll slow down the speed and take deeper pauses.

A mind going blank in a stressful situation like a Presentation can be because the amygdala has been triggered and the prefrontal cortext is reducing in capacity, preparing for Flight or Fight. A few of the best ways to deal with this is: 1) Really understand the value you are bringing to your audience - this keeps you more confident 2) Deep breath work before speaking 3) Focus on your "contribution" to your audience, this takes the focus off you thinking about your insecurities 4) Keep eye contact with audience members who are giving you good energy (smiles, nods etc) this will keep you in a better frame of mind 4) If you can, ask the audience a question and get them to discuss with their partners, letting you recover