I planned to drop the mic in my TEDx Talk. Not this.

I’ve been asked on more than one occasion if I’m from northern Italy.

Apparently, it’s the combo of blonde hair and animated hand gestures.

I speak with my hands. A lot.

Which might be why, halfway through my talk at TEDxUQ, the clicker rolled straight out of my hand and bounced gently onto the red carpet.

Look, I’m just happy it fell on the floor rather than launching into the audience and taking out someone’s eye.

In the week leading up to the talk, I’d been experiencing a strange weakness in my right hand – possible a carpal tunnel situation.

So was it an enthusiastic gesture or a momentary finger malfunction?

I’m not entirely sure.

Either way, down it went.

Thankfully, the yoga and pilates kicked in and I swept that clicker up like the floor was lava - in heels mind you.

Even more fortunately, I’m well versed in utilisation.

It’s a technique I teach my speaking clients.

When something unexpected happens in a talk, you don’t ignore it.

You don’t apologise. You don’t panic.

You use it.

You catch the curveball with confidence and work it into the moment.

As luck would have it, the clicker-drop happened seconds before I was about to say:

“So how do you become memorable?”

Such good timing!

“Apart from dropping things on stage,” I added, before carrying on.

The audience laughed, the moment passed, and the message landed.

Speaking of curveballs, the clicker wasn’t the only one.

There was also a high-pitched whistle coming from a door left slightly ajar. On stage, I couldn’t be entirely sure it wasn’t in my head, so I chose not to mention it and focused harder.

Then there were a few moments where the slides didn’t change when they were meant to and I madly pressed the button like a woman possessed.

So no, it didn’t go perfectly to plan.

But here’s the important part.

The things that didn’t go to plan weren’t the things that mattered.

What mattered was that my voice was heard and my message was clear.

My key line was simple:

Don’t speak to be heard. Speak to be remembered.

Sally Prosser speaking at TedxUQ 2026 - courtesy Katie Delimon

During the break, dozens of people approached me and repeated that line back to me with enthusiasm. They asked questions about how they could speak to be remembered.

Which, when you think about it, is the entire point of speaking.

To leave your voiceprint behind - to leave your mark when you speak.

Memorable speakers aren’t the ones who control every moment.

They’re the ones who can hold the room when the moment changes.

Because the reality of live speaking is there will always be a whistle from a door, a slide that doesn’t change, or a clicker that takes a tumble.

The real test of your voice isn’t whether everything goes to plan.

It’s whether your message still lands when it doesn’t.

So, maybe I did drop the mic after all.

The clicker just got there first.

Sally Prosser is a voice and public speaking coach and author of Voiceprint. Follow her @sallyprosservoice