Today my boss confronted me about something I did wrong the other night. It was nothing too terrible and she wasn't being bitchy in the slightest, but I definitely began to get nervous and it showed. I kind of paused between my words and they were kind of weak. Basically I felt awkward and embarassed. What's the best thing to do in this kind of situation? How can people keep a straight voice and face during these kind of moments? Again, nothing about this specific scenario was extreme yet I couldn't hold an ounce of confidence :\
Say as little as possible. And if you say something, don't elaborate too much, use simple, short, language. And, unless you are asked for it explicitely, don't try to explain your actions, that
will sound weak.
I know this situation you have been in from my military time, getting a chew from a superior officer is never agreable, and it is hard to stay confident, even if confidence belongs to the orderly conduct for officers. What I said above is how I handled these situations, and it helped me a lot, trust me. In the beginning, I also tried to explain my actions, but it always sounded weak to me in my own ears, and 9 out of 10 times it was irrelevant anyways.