Wow. Our students often ask about how to handle ‘crazy’, mixed-up mishaps that can occur while they are presenting. And we offer advice, but mostly we offer assurance that these things rarely happen. Well, we all saw that ‘rare’ moment Sunday night, when the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture was mistakenly announced as La La Land when it was actually Moonlight. And this mistake happened live on air, in front of an audience of millions.
I want to commend Jordan Horowitz (of La La Land), who stepped up in the middle of the acceptance speeches – and confidently put things to right. He managed to exhibit grace under pressure, and didn’t show a hint of anger at the loss of ‘his’ Oscar. He demonstrated that the best way to resolve a snafu – even a BIG ONE – is with honesty, humility and confidence.
We know how hard it is to exhibit such grace and we commend him. He is an example to all of our students who wonder how to deal with a major, public screw up. Be honest, be calm, use humor if appropriate – and save the tears and the anger for later.