Like death and taxes, embarrassing moments are a fact of life. When they occur, your first reaction may be to crawl away and hide. But this isn’t easy to do if something embarrassing happens at work. After all, you can’t just call in sick or avoid your co-workers indefinitely.
The first step to dealing with an embarrassing incident at work is to know that these moments happen to everybody. Rather than pretending it didn’t happen, own it, whether that means laughing it off, or in bigger cases, repairing the damage. Here are some ways to make an awkward experience less awkward.
Maintain Composure
The best thing you can do during an embarrassing moment is remain composed. That way, you’ll have a better shot at reacting appropriately (rather than defensively) and recovering faster. Of course, this is easier said than done. But if you’re able to put others at ease after the incident, chances are you won’t be judged as harshly.
Have a Sense of Humor
Humor is the single most powerful antidote to any embarrassing situation. Not only does humor diffuse a tense moment, it softens the humiliation. If you can laugh at yourself, people are often willing to forgive a lot. As a matter of fact, they might even like you better.
Take Responsibility
Sometimes an embarrassing incident involves other people. Maybe you offended your boss or made a coworker uncomfortable. The worst thing you can do is to pretend your blunder didn’t happen and hope it will blow over. Take responsibility for what you’ve said or done by talking with the person directly. Be professional and apologize if you were wrong. Offer to make amends and assure them that it will never happen again.
Accept Your Humanness
Perhaps you believe you need to uphold a certain image of perfection in order to be respected. But in reality, the best you (or anyone) can do is to be the best version of yourself, with all your strengths and challenges. It’s important to remember that you aren’t perfect; you’re human. We all are.
Live in the Present
If you’ve done everything you possibly can do to rectify the situation and repair your image, it’s time to move on. Although you can’t control what others think of you, you can control how you behave now and in the future. See your mistake as a gift of sorts – an opportunity to learn something about yourself and show what you’re made of.
