ussion was how I had hit my head in my cube (perhaps it was indicative of changing space needs). A guy I barely know from another department came up to me and offered to get me a helmet (laugh it up, Chuckles). Last week some well-meaning folks from my department brought me leftover bubble wrap: “Here, do you want to put this on your cabinets?” I would have preferred to crawl under my desk and die, but instead, I cheerfully said, “Thank you!” and stuck the bubble wrap on my cabinet — and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Going down in history

In 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And in the office, no one can make you feel like a total dork without your permission. A l

If you’re anything like me, you do stupid things every day when, mercifully, there’s no one to see: tripping on flat surfaces, buttoning your shirt too quickly and putting the buttons in the wrong hole, getting lipstick on your teeth. But when you spend at least 40 hours of your week in the office, you’re guaranteed a public gaffe every now and then. I’ve perfected three failsafe moves to help you save face after a less-than-graceful workplace faux pas. Here they are in action.

Face Saver #1: Act like nothing is wrong

On my third day of work at a new company, I managed to walk through three floors of my building and about six blocks on rush-hour frenzied streets, passing several police cars and at least three packed commuter buses, with the back of my skirt tucked up behind my backpack. I don’t mean that it was just hanging a little strangely — it was all the way up. And how did I discover that I had bared my flowery underwear to hundreds of people? Turns out the attractive thirtysomething businessman walking behind me wasn’t having a funny cell-phone conversation after all; he was laughing at my derriere.

Despite the fact that I was dying inside, I lifted my bag, freed my skirt, and gave him a wink before climbing onto my crowded train. I heard a few snickers as I made my way to an empty space, mostly from people with window seats on the platform side of the train, but most folks seemed pretty impressed.

Face Saver #2: Be the first to laugh

One day, I struck a thoughtful pose while listening to my boss: I crossed my arms and leaned casually against his doorjamb — and fell out the door into the hallway. I managed to regain my balance (and most of my dignity) without completely wiping out. Before he uttered a single word, I smoothed my hair and said, “Wow, my coffee had more of a kick than I realized today!” After that, what else could he say? We had a good laugh before continuing our conversation, and I struck my thoughtful pose in a chair.

Face Saver #3: Go along with the humor

On my first day in a new cube following a promotion and a big move, I nearly knocked myself unconscious when I spun to grab something from the other side of my U-shaped workspace and cracked my forehead on the corner of a cabinet. Within seconds, it looked like I had a golf ball coming out of my forehead. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to tell the girl in the next cube what had happened and ask her to help me find an ice pack. I was wrong.

After she stopped laughing, she took my arm and led me to our boss’ office. “Dan,” she announced loudly, “Kristen just hit her head on her cabinet.” “Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow. “I hit my head,” I explained articulately. “In your cube?” His other eyebrow went up. And then he started laughing, too. It didn’t end there. Within minutes I was known companywide as The Girl Who Got A Concussion In Her Cube.

There was a directors’ meeting the next day, in which a major topic of discussion was how I had hit my head in my cube (perhaps it was indicative of changing space needs). A guy I barely know from another department came up to me and offered to get me a helmet (laugh it up, Chuckles). Last week some well-meaning folks from my department brought me leftover bubble wrap: “Here, do you want to put this on your cabinets?” I would have preferred to crawl under my desk and die, but instead, I cheerfully said, “Thank you!” and stuck the bubble wrap on my cabinet — and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Going down in history

In 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And in the office, no one can make you feel like a total dork without your permission. A lo

buses, with the back of my skirt tucked up behind my backpack. I don’t mean that it was just hanging a little strangely — it was all the way up. And how did I discover that I had bared my flowery underwear to hundreds of people? Turns out the attractive thirtysomething businessman walking behind me wasn’t having a funny cell-phone conversation after all; he was laughing at my derriere.

Despite the fact that I was dying inside, I lifted my bag, freed my skirt, and gave him a wink before climbing onto my crowded train. I heard a few snickers as I made my way to an empty space, mostly from people with window seats on the platform side of the train, but most folks seemed pretty impressed.

Face Saver #2: Be the first to laugh

One day, I struck a thoughtful pose while listening to my boss: I crossed my arms and leaned casually against his doorjamb — and fell out the door into the hallway. I managed to regain my balance (and most of my dignity) without completely wiping out. Before he uttered a single word, I smoothed my hair and said, “Wow, my coffee had more of a kick than I realized today!” After that, what else could he say? We had a good laugh before continuing our conversation, and I struck my thoughtful pose in a chair.

Face Saver #3: Go along with the humor

On my first day in a new cube following a promotion and a big move, I nearly knocked myself unconscious when I spun to grab something from the other side of my U-shaped workspace and cracked my forehead on the corner of a cabinet. Within seconds, it looked like I had a golf ball coming out of my forehead. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to tell the girl in the next cube what had happened and ask her to help me find an ice pack. I was wrong.

After she stopped laughing, she took my arm and led me to our boss’ office. “Dan,” she announced loudly, “Kristen just hit her head on her cabinet.” “Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow. “I hit my head,” I explained articulately. “In your cube?” His other eyebrow went up. And then he started laughing, too. It didn’t end there. Within minutes I was known companywide as The Girl Who Got A Concussion In Her Cube.

There was a directors’ meeting the next day, in which a major topic of discussion was how I had hit my head in my cube (perhaps it was indicative of changing space needs). A guy I barely know from another department came up to me and offered to get me a helmet (laugh it up, Chuckles). Last week some well-meaning folks from my department brought me leftover bubble wrap: “Here, do you want to put this on your cabinets?” I would have preferred to crawl under my desk and die, but instead, I cheerfully said, “Thank you!” and stuck the bubble wrap on my cabinet — and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Going down in history

In 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And in the office, no one can make you feel like a total dork without your permission. A l

>One day, I struck a thoughtful pose while listening to my boss: I crossed my arms and leaned casually against his doorjamb — and fell out the door into the hallway. I managed to regain my balance (and most of my dignity) without completely wiping out. Before he uttered a single word, I smoothed my hair and said, “Wow, my coffee had more of a kick than I realized today!” After that, what else could he say? We had a good laugh before continuing our conversation, and I struck my thoughtful pose in a chair.

Face Saver #3: Go along with the humor

On my first day in a new cube following a promotion and a big move, I nearly knocked myself unconscious when I spun to grab something from the other side of my U-shaped workspace and cracked my forehead on the corner of a cabinet. Within seconds, it looked like I had a golf ball coming out of my forehead. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to tell the girl in the next cube what had happened and ask her to help me find an ice pack. I was wrong.

After she stopped laughing, she took my arm and led me to our boss’ office. “Dan,” she announced loudly, “Kristen just hit her head on her cabinet.” “Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow. “I hit my head,” I explained articulately. “In your cube?” His other eyebrow went up. And then he started laughing, too. It didn’t end there. Within minutes I was known companywide as The Girl Who Got A Concussion In Her Cube.

There was a directors’ meeting the next day, in which a major topic of discussion was how I had hit my head in my cube (perhaps it was indicative of changing space needs). A guy I barely know from another department came up to me and offered to get me a helmet (laugh it up, Chuckles). Last week some well-meaning folks from my department brought me leftover bubble wrap: “Here, do you want to put this on your cabinets?” I would have preferred to crawl under my desk and die, but instead, I cheerfully said, “Thank you!” and stuck the bubble wrap on my cabinet — and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Going down in history

In 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And in the office, no one can make you feel like a total dork without your permission. A l

cked my forehead on the corner of a cabinet. Within seconds, it looked like I had a golf ball coming out of my forehead. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to tell the girl in the next cube what had happened and ask her to help me find an ice pack. I was wrong.

After she stopped laughing, she took my arm and led me to our boss’ office. “Dan,” she announced loudly, “Kristen just hit her head on her cabinet.” “Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow. “I hit my head,” I explained articulately. “In your cube?” His other eyebrow went up. And then he started laughing, too. It didn’t end there. Within minutes I was known companywide as The Girl Who Got A Concussion In Her Cube.

There was a directors’ meeting the next day, in which a major topic of discussion was how I had hit my head in my cube (perhaps it was indicative of changing space needs). A guy I barely know from another department came up to me and offered to get me a helmet (laugh it up, Chuckles). Last week some well-meaning folks from my department brought me leftover bubble wrap: “Here, do you want to put this on your cabinets?” I would have preferred to crawl under my desk and die, but instead, I cheerfully said, “Thank you!” and stuck the bubble wrap on my cabinet — and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Going down in history

In 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And in the office, no one can make you feel like a total dork without your permission. A l

ussion was how I had hit my head in my cube (perhaps it was indicative of changing space needs). A guy I barely know from another department came up to me and offered to get me a helmet (laugh it up, Chuckles). Last week some well-meaning folks from my department brought me leftover bubble wrap: “Here, do you want to put this on your cabinets?” I would have preferred to crawl under my desk and die, but instead, I cheerfully said, “Thank you!” and stuck the bubble wrap on my cabinet — and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Going down in history

In 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” And in the office, no one can make you feel like a total dork without your permission. A lot of times the people around you won’t even realize that you messed up unless you make a big deal out of it (or unless you’re baring your behind to the world, of course), so if you make a quick fix and continue on your way, your slip-up may escape notice. Even if your embarrassment is pretty public, remember that the first one to laugh it off is the first one to live it down. And you can always count on one of your coworkers to have her own mortifying moment and take the heat off of you.

* This article originally appeared in desire Los Angeles in May 2005.