Embarrassing moments don’t get any less embarrassing as you get older. In fact, the slips ups become more serious and have a bigger impact on your life than the days of letting out a little wind in grade school! Among friends, embarrassing moments can be laughed off and joked about later. But, when you are in a professional or intimate setting, things can become a little harder to navigate. Part of being a ˜grown up’“ whether we like to admit it or not“ is dealing with our mistakes and embarrassing moments in a mature way (See: Remedies for Embarrassing Sex Mishaps.) Don’t try to cover it up, or play dumb like it didn’t happen; you will only end up looking more foolish.
Related: How to Deal With Life’s Little Disappointments
1) Your boss catches you daydreaming during a meeting, and calls you out.
Don‘t panic; you got caught not paying attention and now your boss is trying to make an example of you. If they have asked you a question, simply ask them to repeat the question. If you have some semblance of idea of what is going on, give a generic response like, I believe that is a good direction to take. After your recovery, set aside your thoughts of your hot date tonight or what colour nail polish you are going to get at your next mani/pedi appointment. Try to redeem yourself with some positive input to the discussion.
Related: Rules for Dealing With a Bad Boss
2) You are asked a question about a topic you know nothing about.
Just because you don’t know what continent the country is on, or who the current leader is, doesn’t mean you can’t formulate an intelligent response. Instead of saying, Oh, what is that? and appearing to be, well, dumb, engage the person with a counter-question. Ask the person to explain their point further and say you are still trying to understand the situation. You can always throw in, I saw a report about this on the news, but just caught the end of it.
3) On a first date, you have more than one clutzy mishap.
Okay, so your spaghetti ended up down your top and you spilled the red wine with your wild, gesticulating hands. Calm down, clasp your hands in your lap so you don’t loose any more drinks, and laugh it off. Say, Oh, were you not finished with that? or, I don’t usually wear my dinner. Hopefully your date will laugh along with you and your embarrassing moment can lead to a spark.
Related: Tips to Survive a First Date
4) You introduce someone by the wrong name.
Whether this is at work or a party, you never want to be the person who forgets all the names. First and foremost, apologise sincerely, and then say that the person reminds you of your beautiful friend and that is why you called her the wrong name. Continue on with your conversation as if nothing happened. Be friendly, it will smooth things over.
5) You send an email or text to the wrong person.
Hopefully, the content is not too X-rated, and you can send a quick text back saying it was meant for someone else. If you commit a major blunder and send someone an email or text saying something negative about him or her, don’t deny it. Confront them, hash it out, and apologise for the way it came out. Again, honesty is always the best policy¦especially when you are turning a bright crimson colour!
