At one time or another, most of us have suffered from "Foot In Mouth" disease; we've said the wrong thing entirely or at least said it to the wrong person. When this happens, things can go from bad to worse in rapid succession.
For example, you are talking with someone and half-way through your sentence you realize that you are saying completely the wrong thing. You think "Crapcrapcrap" What are you saying? STOP!". Widespread panic ensues. You come to a screeching halt mid-sentence, trying to figure out what to say next. You have just pulled the sheet off the elephant standing in the middle of the room -- "Ta Da!". By slamming on the brakes you have just brought attention to it.
Next, you try to fix it. You either back track on what you've all ready said or you try to change the subject. Now you not only have an elephant standing in the middle of the room, you have an elephant in the room with flashing neon signs pointing at him. Yep, you have ridden the wave of widespread panic and landed smack in the middle of Embarrassment Town. And they want to make you mayor. Now what?
You give up and give in. You know you've been caught, so you might as well just go ahead and finish the sentence and get it over with so you can apologize. Now you're still very much embarrassed and feeling like an idiot, but at least you can say you're an honest idiot, right? The elephant is still in the room, but the neon has stopped flashing.
I have found in many cases that your best bet is to just continue with your original thought -- no slamming on brakes or back tracking. Just skate on through nonchalantly like what you're saying is no big deal. If you do, it probably won't be a big deal to anyone else either. You can still apologize, but it's a little less like a circus with elephants parading around the room. Most times we make our own mole hills into mountains and lead the elephants into the room ourselves.
I am still working on a censor to review all my thoughts before they are converted to words. I actually do have one, but it breaks down far too often. I think I need an upgrade. In the meantime, I will try to avoid widespread panic and remember that a closed mouth gathers no foot.
If I come across something foolproof, I'll let you know.
