What happens when you make a flub during an interview?

Here’s the background on this story (in case you live in Antarctica and you don’t pay attention to the fluffy news articles in-between the infrequent real news articles):

A few weeks ago, John Travolta was presenting at the Oscars.  Travolta was there to introduce Idina Menzel, the singer of Disney’s mega-hit single from Frozen, “Let it Go”.  If you don’t have kids, the name “Idina Menzel” and the song “Let it Go” are probably meaningless.  However, if you know anyone under the age of 20, you've probably heard the song a million times.  In fact, if you’re reading this and you’re under the age of 20, “Idina Menzel” probably means a whole lot more to you than “John Travolta” does.

Anyway, Travolta walked to the podium and very confidently introduced some fictional human named “Adele Dazeem”.  His conviction and confident body language made some people think the teleprompter had the wrong (or in this case, made-up) name written on it.  As it turns out, Travolta just biffed the name and went with it.  Immediately afterward, Travolta was ridiculed on nearly every entertainment and news outlet in the universe.  The next day, a “Travoltify Your Name” generator was made available via Slate.com (“Jeff Lareau” is turned into “Jak Lopeez”).  Everyone under 20 will now think of Vinny Barbarino as “that weirdo who decided to make up a name at the Oscars.”

Keep in mind that most presenters at the Oscars seem a little bit nervous.  It’s understandable because they’re standing in a full room of their peers and colleagues, while simultaneously being broadcast live to millions of people around the world.  Presenters stutter sometimes, they’re a bit shaky, and they fall down if their name rhymes with Dennifer Plawrence.  For the most part though, everyone comes out of it unscathed.  For example, a few years ago Will Smith tripped up over his words, laughed at himself, and then corrected it.  The next day, there were no “Will Smithify this sentence” word generators.  Why?  Because Will Smith noticed his error, laughed, and corrected it.  He handled it like a human, not like an alien from Battlefield Earth.

You’re probably thinking, “What does this have to do with my job search?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Interviews are high pressure situations.  People flub, they trip over their words, and they say “um” and “uh” a lot.  If you say the wrong thing, it’s okay to stop yourself and correct the error.  If it was a big error, it’s okay to laugh at yourself and say something like, “Well, THAT didn't come out right!”  Errors and misspoken sentences create a tension in the air that makes the listener feel awkward.  Admitting fault, making a joke out of it, and correcting the error will relieve the tension in the room quickly without making the interviewer think, “Did he just Travolta that sentence?” 

The fact that John Travolta made a mistake is not a big deal.  People make mistakes all the time.  However, the way he decided to handle that mistake may have cost him a few film roles.  No one remembers an error unless it’s handled poorly, and had John Travolta simply said, “Introducing Adele Dazeem, err, I’m sorry, Idina Menzel!”, no one would remember that he messed anything up.  

Stay confident in your interviews, and don’t be afraid to acknowledge a slip-up!