He wanted to be pregnant.

A senior executive told me, very earnestly, that he wanted to be pregnant.

He meant “prägnant”: concise, punchy and to the point. In German, a perfectly reasonable thing for a presenter to aim for.

In English, the room went very quiet.

These moments happen more than you’d think. A client who “became a coffee” instead of ordering one. Another who emailed his team to please “control” his work. A CEO who thanked me warmly for the “curse“. (He meant the course.)

Every one of them laughed, corrected the mistake and kept speaking. (I have my own collection. It grows every year.)

Quick win: Start a collection. Every mistake you remember is one you’ve learnt from and one good story for later.