When It All Goes Wrong On Stage: What Bombing Taught Me About Preparing To Speak

About this episode

John Ball reflects on a recent experience of bombing on stage and the lessons learned about preparation for speaking engagements.

Last week I bombed on stage at a standup comedy gig. Not catastrophically -- more in the way where you know before you walk onstage that you're not ready, and then it shows. I want to talk about it, not for the catharsis, but because the cascade that led to that bad night is exactly the same cascade that leads to underprepared keynotes, flat training sessions, and presentations that don't land the way you knew they could. What actually went wrong I had months of notice. No excuse on preparation. But life did what life does, other work took priority, and I found myself on the day of the gig trying to write new material from scratch. When that didn't work, I retreated to older material I hadn't rehearsed. I took a set list onstage -- something I've never done -- and in that moment I knew it wasn't a practical tool. It was me confirming to myself what I already knew: I wasn't prepared. My opening line died in complete silence. My body started sweating. My face went red. If you've ever watched a performer visibly unravel in real time, you know it's uncomfortable for everyone in the room. The real lesson for professional speakers The host blamed the crowd. I didn't take that excuse…

People in this episode

Host: John Ball

Topics covered

• public speaking
• preparation
• performance
• failure
• self-reflection

Keywords

• public speaking
• preparation
• comedy
• performance anxiety
• keynote
• training sessions
• audience engagement

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