My 3 Most Embarrassing Public Speaking Mistakes And What You Can Learn From Them

Have you ever had your key audience members just get up and leave? Have you ever stood in front of the crowd and literally been unable to speak? Have you ever stood in front of 100 people and not be allowed to say anything interesting?

Here's what happened and what you can learn:

Accelerator Pitching: Two of three judges left

I'd practiced my pitch to perfection, but wasn't convinced by the feedback from my judges. So one day I began the pitch with the following:

"I'll give you $5 if you give me a bad mark, but if you give a good mark you have to give me $5" - I wanted them to put their money where their mouth was.

One judge stood up and left, the next judge followed and the third judge said "Sorry, I don't have $5". I didn't pitch that day.

The lesson: don't be so confusing when beginning your pitch.

Hackathon Pitching: Unable to speak....

It was a weekend hackathon, I was teams speaker. I practiced my pitch over and over. As time drew near I felt my voice getting hoarse. When it was my turn to speak I couldn't utter a sound.

The lesson: don't over-practice your pitch.

External Talks: Sanitized

Someone booked an unsanctioned talk in the companies name, but left shortly after. The company decided to present anyway. I volunteered to give the talk, thinking I could talk about the cool things we were doing. Instead I had to give an extremely sanitised, off-topic and boring talk to an auditorium full of people.

The lesson: lock in the topic before agreeing to speak.