Captain Picard Facepalm Meme Template

For a mistake so avoidable that the only response is to cover your face. Put the failed logic or your own embarrassing oversight in the caption.

Picard’s lowered head and hand over his face convey exhausted disbelief. This is a reaction after the mistake has become obvious, when explaining it again feels pointless.

You can aim the joke at your own error, too. Forgetting an attachment, replying to the wrong thread, or making a correction that repeats the problem all suit the gesture.

Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard makes this gesture in “Deja Q,” a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode first broadcast on February 5, 1990. Q has lost his powers and seeks refuge aboard the Enterprise. [1] [2]

The still later became a facepalm reaction image, carrying the captain’s exasperation into conversations unrelated to Star Trek. [1]

Use the red uniform beneath the face for a concise caption. Keep the hand visible: covering it removes the whole reaction.

A specific action is stronger than a general complaint about people being foolish. Show the circular instruction, the forgotten step, or the contradiction.

The avoidable mistake

The action that leaves you with no words.

• Describe what went wrong in one sentence.
• Self-directed embarrassment works as well as frustration with someone else.
• Avoid adding “facepalm” to explain an expression the picture already shows.