As a professional speaker, leadership coach, seminar leader and teacher, I am often plagued by speakers’ nightmares. One is the ever-dreaded image of standing in front of a group delivering one of my finest impassioned messages only to look down and find that my fly is open! Let me tell you, that image could make any speaker bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night. Most of us don’t want to remember, let alone relate those moments. On the other hand, if you were lucky enough to have a grandmother like mine who told me, “There is no such thing as a bad experience, unless you are too silly or stupid to learn something from it,” you might find those most embarrassing times make great “teachable moments.”

While there have been many of these moments in my career, the most memorable happened about ten years ago. This award-winning experience occurred during an all day program for a large group of healthcare managers. Throughout full-day seminars, I try to benchmark my effectiveness. Typically if I am “cooking” by the morning break, participants will talk with me about points made, make challenges and ask questions. Often when this occurs, a break is not possible, in spite of my excess coffee consumption.

On this particular date things were cooking; I’d spent the entire break fielding questions and challenges. I then directed the participants to complete a group activity while I headed off to the restroom. As I was completing my “mission,” I could hear uproarious laughter coming from the meeting room. Upon walking back into room it was abundantly clear that something hysterical had occurred. I asked one of the fellows in the front row, whom I have known a number of years, “What is so funny?” He was doubled up and laughing uncontrollably while pointing his finger toward me. He couldn’t talk. I turned to several more people in the same row. In every instance I received nearly the same response, an inability to respond, faces red from laughter, eyes watering from their giggles. On top of that, with each person’s inability to respond came louder laughter from the entire group.

I was finally able to get a response! Tom the CEO stood and delivered what was to become the most memorable incident I would have while standing in front of an audience. In a halting voice, with words interspersed with chuckles and interruptions of laughter from the group, he met my question with one of his own. “Fred,” he started, “on behalf of myself, (laughter) my colleagues and friends (more laughter)–is your zipper always that loud?” At first I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Then he walked over and pointed to the wireless microphone clipped to my tie! I had gone to the restroom and forgotten to shut off my microphone. Suddenly, it all came rushing back. Not only did I do what is naturally done in a restroom; when alone, I also have a tendency to talk to myself to “psyche up” for the next go-round. On that day, I became known as “The man with the loudest zipper in Wisconsin.”

What do you do in a situation like this? Claim that it really wasn’t you–that someone else was in there with you? After all, you were talking to someone (even though it was clearly yourself). No, I learned that day that I shouldn’t take myself too seriously. My Dad once told me, “Never trust a person who can’t laugh at himself.” Which is precisely what I did– I joined in the laughter.

The benefit? From that incident I received more than 20 calls requesting “the guy with the loudest zipper in Wisconsin” to present to their group or organization. Taking what you do, not yourself, too seriously can provide both you and those around you with ‘The Last Laugh’!

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The Growth Coach is locally owned and operated in La Crosse (Wisconsin), Winona and Rochester (Minnesota) by JFK Associates, Inc.