Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I Don't Fear Public Speaking. I Fear Myself While Speaking Publically.

Okay, I know I've been light on blog posts as of late. This is a big work week filled with intern meetings and regular meetings. And most of it culminates on Thursday.

But to whhhhet your whistle, I have two potentially awesome posts in which you get a little view into the wonderful world of my iphone photos. No pictures of cats this time though. Sorry SLASH you're welcome.

I'm a littler nervous about tomorrow, guys. We have an intern thing all morning about presentation skills.

Reasons why this makes me nervous:

1. I have actually never taken a presentation course. Somehow I got out of SPCOMM 101. It might have been that 3 I got on my English AP. Because yeah, I'm just. That. Smart.

2. My abilities to talk in front of large crowds is touch-and-go. I think generally I'm up there flowing along, making people laugh, exhuding awesomeness. But every once in a while my brain goes "Rut-roh! I forgot how to work. Guess I'll sit this one out." And I end up tugging at my clothes and touching my bangs and saying "um" 80 billion times and forgetting words like 'specialty' and replacing them with the word 'milieu.' Because, without fail, that is the word that comes to mind first. ALWAYS.

I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow I get up there and I'm like "Well, um, I really reciprocate the tabernacle of the, um, jargon-lettered reciprocity. It's quite dominant in my milieu." And there will be staring until finally someone will just interrupt me and put me out of my misery.

3. It also makes me nervous because I have a paper-thin censor when I talk in front of crowds. And if I get people to laugh at one thing, I automatically assume that it's cool to just say whatever the hell I want. F-bombs are dropped, prides are wounded and I end up feeling like I somehow just scandalized a group of 22 year olds. As if that's possible.


So for this meeting, we have to be ready with a. A personal story, b. A business or personal success and c. A tough situation I faced.

Here's where I'm going right now. Let me know what you think.

a. Once in the 3rd grade, we were learning about clouds, and I peed my pants in someone else's chair because we'd switched classrooms for science and the teacher wouldn't call on me. No one knew.

b. Yesterday I had the choice between the tacos and the salad. I chose the salad. Personal success.

c. Last week I had some seriously overdone pork chops.

Eh? Ehhhhhhh?

4 comments:

Sra said...

Pee-your-pants one has some potential - you also threw up in 3rd grade - quite the traumatic year for you.
I was thinking of junior high crushes, and your traumatic camping experience, Scoops being gone (that's probably more me), and reading Beowulf in high school?
Rah, there are so many "trials" to choose from! :P

Margaret said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Margaret said...

Scoops being gone is one of the most traumatic things that has ever happened to Elmhurst, IL. Also...didn't you give the speech to about 2,000 people at graduation

Emily said...

Ah. Good point, and one I meant to address. That speech was different because I had everything written out in front of me, and a podium to lean on. It is an entirely different scenario to tell a story on the fly and with narry a roadblock in front of you.