The person who can trip on stage, grin and keep singing is scarier than the one who never trips.

Flawlessness is fragile, because it has never been tested and everybody senses that. Someone who recovers in public has demonstrated the thing that actually matters, which is that a mistake does not end the performance. That is much harder to rattle and much harder to compete with.

When something goes wrong in front of people, carry on without the apology tour. Fix whatever needs fixing and keep moving. The room takes its cue from you, and they forget the stumble at roughly the speed you do.