You know the feeling. You’ve done your pitch but it’s not over yet. Question time is upon you. The Marketing Director is frowning, he sits forward and scratches his chin. There’s one bubbling. He fires it at you. Straight out of Left Field.

You panic. Your breathing almost stops. Your mind is wildly searching for something sensible and vaguely related. No nothing. Still nothing. Only silence and stares. You can feel your face getting hot. Now you’re doubly embarrassed.

Here’s a trick to stop that happening.

Recognise what you feel when you’re being asked something you don’t know.
What are you saying to yourself?
What are you seeing?

These answers are your fluster triggers.

Now imagine the pitch is a film and you’re the director.

Sitting in the big black director’s chair, watch the question-time scene in your imagination. You have a clear idea of how you’d like to see yourself handle this tricky question. Perhaps you smile, think for a bit and then calmly say, “Excellent question.” You write it down on your pad. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow with an answer if that’s OK?”

Now leave the chair and take up your role on the screen. To do this you need to imagine looking out of your own eyes in the imagined board room. You see the MD frown…you know what’s coming. See, hear and feel your fluster trigger. And at this point launch into your new practised response.

Keep practising it and build up the muscle memory. And sooner or later you’ll bust your flusters.