How Bad Was Theresa May's Speech?

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TempThe Telegraph calls it a "car crash" and "one of the most disastrous conference speeches in history." British Prime Minister Theresa May faced three problems in front of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

First, a protestor interrupted the speech to hand her a "P45," which is a document used to fire workers in the U.K. (Sounds like a "pink slip" in the U.S.) The prankster was escorted out, and May recovered by making a joke: "I was about to talk about someone I'd like to give a P45 to, and that's Jeremy Corbyn," who is the leader of the Labour Party. 

Then, she had a coughing fit and had to drink a glass of water, some of which seemed to spill into her hand. (Here, I'm reminded of Marco Rubio's odd sip of water.)

Finally, captions dropped a letter, leaving "for" as "or." The Telegraph and other media outlets reported this mishap as "the stage falls apart," but I would say that's quite an exaggeration.

Discussion:

  • I think the media outlets were too harsh. Do you agree? Why or why not?
  • This is a humbling experience for May. How well did she recover?
  • What lessons can you take for your own presentations?