Interviews feel like, and often are, high-stakes situations. You’re not certain what questions you’ll be asked; you worry you’ll stumble or not know how to respond (or worse, say something that ends your career); you hope your hair and wardrobe look polished; and, fingers crossed, your WIFI stays strong.

DMG can help you work through these reasonable concerns so that you nail the interview. But even with all the prep in the world, sometimes unforeseen things happen.

Take, for instance, NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer, who had a bird land on her head moments before a live shot.

Whether a bird lands on your head, your child walks into the background of your interview, technical difficulties arise, or the many other things outside of your control, here are a few tips to help you keep your cool and move forward:

#1 — Don’t stop.
Unless a producer is telling you to stop, move forward with the interview. It’s possible that what feels like a big deal to you may not have been seen or heard by the audience. Better not to bring attention to it if you’re not sure what aired.

#2 — Laugh about it.
If a bird lands on your head, or a family member doesn’t realize you’re live and walks through your shot, it’s fine to make light of the situation through casual chit-chat with the host. But get back on topic as quickly as possible. What you don’t want to do is move your child out of the background as if the audience can’t see you doing so. They can. So, deal with it quickly and move on.

#3 — Keep your composure.
Whether the audience can see the chaos or not, the unexpected can throw you off your game. This is when you have to keep your composure and remind yourself to do what you know works in a live interview—sit tall, look at the camera, project your voice, stay on message, etc. It takes mental discipline to keep going, but typically, people will applaud your ability to move forward, and then, like Kellie Meyer, you get some bonus social media attention.