Presentation Skills: What to Do About Misspeaking?

Mistakes happen all the time.  You mean to say one thing, but a glitch of the tongue brings something else out of your mouth.

• While campaigning for the presidency,  Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis referred to “modern musicians” instead of “modern munitions.”
• Jimmy Carter once referred to himself as a “former president” – while still in office.

Misspeaking happens a lot– even to the best speakers.  If you make a mistake, correct yourself simply and calmly. Use a brief neutral statement, such as:

• “I should clarify that.”
• “Let me try that one more time.”
• “What I really meant to say was…”
• “Maybe I should put it another way.”
• “Actually, the date is…”
• “I need to fix that.  The correct number is…”

Keep your correction short and direct. Elaborate apologies just call more attention to your errors.

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Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.