The Wall Street Journal, July 7th “Keeping Your Foot Away From Your Mouth” piece,is about recent gaffes by the CEO of BP and Michelle Obama. Mishaps like these have a viral shelf life that never fades especially if they come from a notable person. “Miss-speaks” always seem to make for a press worthy situation.

Some words of caution. When you’re in a very volatile situation work from a script you can share among colleagues or a communication coach. Practice hearing yourself verbalize it at least three times. If there is a policy involved, get your statement approved by the appropriate personnel. I really believe that 90% of time gaffes are an innocent mistake.

So, get in the mental habit of practicing your talking points. It will help prevent you from using a poor choice of words at the worst possible time.