Stage Fright

Stage Fright by ChrissieCool on deviantART

So this morning (Wednesday, because at the rate I edit my posts this will be late) there was a conference call and I was one of the presenters. I got through it with saying "um" less than 500 times (I mean, how many time was *that* drilled into my head).

I used to be a major wallflower (no, social media experience doesn't count because, like any internet troll, I am still behind a screen), and apparently still am. Back in my Decathlon days, since one of the categories was Interview, it was beaten drilled into me how to speak clearly, have presence, make eye contact, read my audience, and "SLOW THE EFF DOWN, ANNETTE!!!" Bet you never heard someone blow through a 6-minute speech in 2.

Where was I? Oh yeah, my slides were great (good enough), my enthusiasm for social media was great (without sounding like either a total geek or technocrat), and given the audience, I had enough analysis to not seem like a fraud (have I mentioned just how much I love analytics???), But by the end of my few minutes, I was sweating buckets. WTFruit???!!

So I changed my shirt, applied more deodorant, and headed into work. One presentation down, one to go. This would be so much easier if I could actually see my audience and gauge their interest, reactions, etc. I need body language. And the older I get, the less I need to hear myself talking into the void. The voices in my head do that enough (that's the insomnia speaking, probably).


And so, I leave you with this:

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