i love to write..i believe it is how i best describe myself. in some cases, words are easy to hide behind and it's a lot easier to hit the 'backspace' button than to try to take my foot out of my mouth. sometimes, i lack tact and perhaps, some common decency, and with text, i can just blame it on my dry, sarcastic mindset rather than admitting my poor judgement. writing papers in school was always easiest compared to getting in front of my peers for a presentation..even short ones. my biggest fear going through school was oral presentations. my palms and feet would sweat (along with the rest of my body), sometimes i'd get the shakes. if there was a podium, i would slip my shoes off (particularly with classroom tile floors). it's not that i lacked the ability to present my ideas to people, it's just that i would get so nervous that i'd psych myself out. sometimes, if i'd lose my train of thought, without thinking (oops!), a minor expletive would escape my lips, proving my nervousness to those seated in front of me.
it's fun to look back and see how far i've come. in a previous post i mentioned that after graduation, i represented ecu in the ncapa student planning competition. i had adjusted my focus/topic of my presentation from my senior summary presentation a few months earlier, so i was not as confident in my oral presentation; but, i knew my paper was flawless and most likely, better than my competition (ended up being a kid from unc-g i think). and, i was right. he did do a better job presenting his research/ideas to the room. but, leaving the conference that day, i walked out with the director from new bern & a judge). i asked him point blank what tipped the scales toward the other guy. and he confirmed my suspicions..the presentation. but he said, my research was flawless and they could find no mistakes in my writing. he even said that he would keep my paper and use it for research/help in his job. that's one of the greatest compliments of my career. how could i be sad i lost with news like that. :)
how ironic that i grew up fearing oral presentations and now i find myself in a career that is dependent upon how we are able to verbally (mostly) communicate with citizens, fellow planners and the appointed/elected officials. and, i can do it without taking my shoes off! :)
it's fun to look back and see how far i've come. in a previous post i mentioned that after graduation, i represented ecu in the ncapa student planning competition. i had adjusted my focus/topic of my presentation from my senior summary presentation a few months earlier, so i was not as confident in my oral presentation; but, i knew my paper was flawless and most likely, better than my competition (ended up being a kid from unc-g i think). and, i was right. he did do a better job presenting his research/ideas to the room. but, leaving the conference that day, i walked out with the director from new bern & a judge). i asked him point blank what tipped the scales toward the other guy. and he confirmed my suspicions..the presentation. but he said, my research was flawless and they could find no mistakes in my writing. he even said that he would keep my paper and use it for research/help in his job. that's one of the greatest compliments of my career. how could i be sad i lost with news like that. :)
how ironic that i grew up fearing oral presentations and now i find myself in a career that is dependent upon how we are able to verbally (mostly) communicate with citizens, fellow planners and the appointed/elected officials. and, i can do it without taking my shoes off! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment