By Becky Yerak, Chicago Tribune
Everyone has been there at one time or another: blowing a job interview, flubbing a pitch to a client, flunking a test.
During stressful situations, even people who are capable of performing better and have done so in the past have dropped the ball.
James Sprayregen, a Kirkland & Ellis bankruptcy lawyer who handled the United Airlines reorganization, recalls how he froze during a key presentation before directors of a Fortune 100 company.
Sprayregen said he started his talk by saying there were three major reasons the company he was representing should avoid a certain course of action. Spelling out the first reason was easy. Then his mind went blank.
"I stood there for about 30 seconds, with everyone staring at me, trying to remember two and three," Sprayregen said. Finally the two other reasons popped into his head.
"Ever since then, I never say there are 'three major reasons,' but rather there are 'several reasons,'" he said.
Sprayregen prefers speaking extemporaneously, even though he knows that's risky. Occasionally, he'll keep a piece of paper with a handful of key points, "sort of like Sarah Palin with the writing on her hand,'' he said.
Click the link below to learn some tips on how to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1025-choke-20101025,0,1161197,full.story