I love presenting at conferences, especially when they’re well put together and organized. There is such an energy of positivity and growth in the room, and I love to help facilitate that.
I was presenting at a conference this year and I had the setup with music and a rotating slideshow playing as people were coming in. I started to notice some glitching in their system. I unplugged the plugs and restarted the computer, but it persisted.
There was a tech guy there and he adjusted a couple of things, but then it was time to start.
Well, the glitching continued into the first half of my presentation. It became quite distracting. As I went to show my first video, the sound didn’t work, and there was a moaning of disappointment in the crowd.
I began to grow frustrated while this was happening. I literally had just presented to the group the concept of E plus R equals O (Event + Response = Outcome). I explained that events happen and we want a positive outcome, but it’s our response to those events that’s the most important thing.
Someone actually shouted out from the crowd as we were encountering these hurdles. “Remember E plus R equals O Andrew?” We all laughed. It was perfect timing, and a great lesson for me and the group.
A couple people from the crowd actually came up and tried to assist, as well offering different tips and strategies to get the technology squared away.
Finally, they radioed in the big dogs! The supervisors. There were all kinds of people with radios in their ears and tool belts, they got to it, and actually fixed it!
I was relieved, and so was everyone in the room.
When I read the feedback from the session, as I expected, there were a lot of comments about the technology, and most of them had said that they knew it wasn’t my fault, but a lot of the feedback was about the technology. It was interesting that in the same batch of comments there were people who complimented my patience, and one person that said I lacked patience and was curt with the tech people. All of these comments in the same group?
It really got my brain thinking and reflecting on the experience, good and bad.
There’s no failure, only learning, and I take that feedback and want to grow and learn from it. Here are some takeaways that I reflected upon.
- Number one: People are always watching. People are watching you at your job. People are watching you with your family, and certainly when you are presenting publicly. Be mindful of what you look like in your body language and how you are treating people, especially those trying to help you!
- Number two: E plus R = O. These events are going to happen. It’s so ironic that I literally was presenting about that topic and it happened to me right in the middle of it! It is our response to these situations that matter most!
- Number three: Mr. Rogers says look for the helpers. There were people in the audience as well as the tech people that were trying to help. Let them do their thing and figure it out. I was able to pull up my presentation on my cell phone and operate it through there. While it was a bit distracting and people were frustrated they couldn’t see the screen I was able to continue on with the presentation. Look for the helpers.
- Number four: Put some tools in your tool belt. My office at school is right next to the technology department. All day long, I hear them trying to help people navigate through tech issues. They are problem solvers and have a bunch of different tools and strategies for different situations. Put some in your toolbox, so you can help navigate a little bit on your own.
- Number five: This too shall pass. Things happen and those technology people did get the issue fixed. Be patient. While it was happening, I felt pressure hitting my shoulders and certainly my sweat glands. But it all worked out, and people actually complimented me at the end of it for navigating through it and modeling what it looks like to get through a technology hurdle.
Keep rolling on your journey, friends and keep surviving and thriving! Thanks for all your support.
Are you looking for a speaker for your next event? (hopefully with NO tech issues!) I’d love to have the opportunity to work with you and your team! Full day, workshops, keynotes, administrative, coaching, teacher, presentations, book study, student, leadership, assemblies, and more!
Learn more here: https://andrewmarotta.com/
