How to fall down - and get back up again with grace

Her heel slipped, her bottom hit the floor and millions crowded around their television sets let out a collective groan. Miss USA Rachel Smith lay sprawled onstage at the Miss Universe pageant in a glittering evening gown, a very public victim of one of the oldest physical gaffes known to humankind: falling down.

It happens in the school cafeteria, full lunch tray clattering to the ground. It happens on a city street before dozens of gawking onlookers. What's the best way to recover from a bad fall with a modicum of dignity intact?

Etiquette experts weigh in on how to get back on your feet gracefully:

Acknowledge the spill

Miss USA clambered back up, flashed a brilliant smile and resumed her walk before the judges. But experts say she should have done more to acknowledge the fall.

"If I were her coach, I would say, really make a big deal out of acknowledging it," said Jodi R.R. Smith, owner and founder of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Boston. "Don't just smile. Do a curtsy or a twirl and then move on."

As Miss USA, Rachel Smith was being judged on her poise, the coach says, and admitting her mistake would "take it to the next level."

Make it funny

Comedienne Lucille Ball reigned as the queen of converting falls to laughter, but experts say anyone can do it.

"People do clumsy things all the time," said Peter Post, a director of the Emily Post Institute in Vermont. "By having a little fun with it, you've changed what people are thinking to, 'Oh man, that person's really clever, that was pretty good!'"

If Smith had tears in her eyes and was visibly upset, the Mexico City audience would have pitied her, Post said. But executing a comical bow or curtsy would shift the focus away from the embarrassing moment.

"If she had bowed or curtsied after falling, what would we be talking about today?" he said.

Think on your feet

While there's no golden rule to follow after a humiliating slip, experts say it's key to behave according to the situation.

"Having good manners and understanding etiquette is not about being perfect," Smith, the coach, says. "It's about being able to hanred wine on a white tablecloth or knocking things over or falling down."

If you take a nose-dive while walking along an office corridor with a colleague, for example, brush yourself off and play it cool.

"Turn around and look at the carpeting and say, 'Hey, someone needs to have that fixed,'" she said.

If the scene of the crime is a street corner, smile at any witnesses and move on.

(To her credit, Miss USA refused to let boos and chants of "Mexico!" from the crowd get to her during her question and answer session. Instead, the eventual fourth runner-up smiled and signed off with, "Buenas noches, Mexico. Muchas gracias!" earning some applause.)

Etiquette expert Smith said acknowledging a bad situation is usually the best way to go, with one notable exception.

In moments of flatulence, never admit guilt -- even when everyone in the room knows it was you.

"It's just too unseemly," Smith said.