Failure happens on stage and off.

In this roundtable, Brian Miller, Ioana (Jo) Jongsma, and Francisco Mahfuz share their most painful speaking fails from a joke that died in the opening line, to a mass walk-out mid-talk, to offending a client with a poorly framed stat, and the exact fixes they use today. You’ll get practical tools to prevent repeats, recover in the moment, and turn misses into material.

What you’ll learn:

Why opening with humor often backfires (and how to signal it so it lands)
Where to test new material (hint: never first or last)
How to use stakes and statistics without triggering guilt or defensiveness
Reading the room: audience, culture, and context cues to adjust on the fly
The “great talk, no bookings” trap and how to set success metrics upfront
Simple recovery lines and pivots when the room goes cold (or leaves)

🎙 The SpeakerPath® Podcast is from Clarity Up, a boutique message design firm that teaches smart people how to explain their big ideas to the rest of us.

Connect with our hosts:

Brian Miller, Founder & Principal Messaging Consultant:https://linkedin.com/in/brianmillerspeaks

Ioana (Jo) Jongsma, Presence & Performance Coach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ioana-jongsma/

Francisco Mahfuz, Story Specialist & Lead Consultant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fmahfuz