What would you do if you were singing and dancing in front of tens of thousands of people and a stage part that plays a key role in the choreography you've been planning for years suddenly stopped working?

Freak out is a perfectly acceptable response. Unless your name is Taylor Swift.

During her performance on October 27 Eras Tour in New Orleans, the reflective riser box she normally stands on and spins as she sings “Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?” suddenly stopped moving. The moment with the malfunction of the “TayRoomba” (the fan's nickname for the box) was captured by @brittanyconk17

The sheer talent and quick thinking of Taylor and her dancers to navigate the tayroomba malfunction at such an important moment in the show is simply incredible – they didn't miss a beat and got it so seamlessly ?? pic.twitter.com/Dzrde3hAF6

— Brittany (Taylor version) ✨? (@brittanyconk17) October 28, 2024

Notice the flub? Unless you're a dedicated Swiftee, probably not. And that's what makes this such a powerful lesson in dealing with unexpected stress. Swift barely seemed to rest and continued with the song, switching up the normal choreography in place with her backup dancers.

Related: Why does Taylor Swift keep stopping her shows mid-song? It's actually a great lesson in leadership.

This wasn't the first time Swift had to deal with an unexpected problem during her elaborate stage shows, and it illustrates many great lessons for entrepreneurs. You may not be performing at the Superdome anytime soon, but chances are you'll need to present something for your business or job. Here are some keys to error handling when things don't go your way.

• Just keep scrolling: No one but you knows exactly how this was supposed to go. Just get past the glitch and 9 out of 10 times the people on the other end of your presentation won't even notice that the graphic you were hoping to show just disappeared.
• Practice breeds confidence: When you know exactly what you want to do and can recite your plan backwards and forwards, that knowledge gives you all the confidence to improvise while staying on point.
• Embrace the moment: Mistakes can happen to anyone, so being able to laugh not only humanizes you, but allows your audience to see how you react to adversity without losing your composure.

Related: Taylor Swift's police escort in London has outraged taxpayers