That meeting where I froze up during a presentation on my own data

I was in a senior staff meeting at our office in Austin, giving a quarterly update on our hiring pipeline. I had all the numbers ready, but when my boss asked about a specific drop in candidate conversions, my mind just went blank. I stood there for what felt like FOREVER, flipping through my notebook with nothing to say. Finally I just admitted, 'I don't have that detail right now, but I'll find the answer and get back to you within an hour.' It was embarrassing, but being honest saved me from making up something wrong. Has anyone else had a moment where you totally blanked in front of leadership? How did you handle the aftermath?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollyc926d ago

OH MAN that is SO relatable. I did the EXACT same thing last quarter in a big review meeting. I was supposed to walk everyone through our candidate pool numbers and my brain just shut down mid-sentence. I stared at the screen for what felt like ten minutes and finally blurted out "I need to double check that math." It was so awkward I thought I might actually die right there. But you know what? That honesty thing really works. My boss actually told me later that he respected I didn't try to fake it. The aftermath was fine because I emailed everyone the corrected data within half an hour and nobody even mentioned it again.

ben_ross516d ago

Worth noting that @hollyc92's story kinda proves how we all build up these nightmare scenarios in our heads way worse than reality. The actual fallout from messing up is usually just a quick email and nobody cares a week later. That moment of panic feels huge but it's really just a blip on everyone else's radar.