oh sh*t. 11 hours until my presentation

[JustWannaBeHuge]

I didn't get the chance to do as many dry runs as I was hoping for, and then today my supervisor (she is a great person so please don't get me wrong or think I am talking bad about her) wanted me to go more with her style and gave me things to say, so when I was trying to remember everything she said, I was stumbling all over the place.

the other slides, where it was all me, I did good, I was a little dry and can stand to be more relaxed, but I figure that will come out as I go through it all, or I hope so anyway. I just know that I am nervous as f**k right now lol.

my brother, supervisor, sales rep... everyone keeps saying the same thing, that I know the account better than anyone and I'm one of the main reasons why it has grown so much and the people that are going to be there, want to hear what we have done, the success story for it! and there is no reason for me to be the slightest bit nervous, but that doesn't help lol.


I'm sure I'll be okay after tonight and tomorrow morning, but man, there are a lot of big names that are going to be there and I guess I am even more nervous because of the titles, which makes no sense as I deal with VPs and CEOs all day... I'm rambling, sorry lol

Rob

 

[muscledoc1]

Dont be nervous bro,just focus do your best and most important-BE YOURSELF!-you'll be fine man...good luck!!!!

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Put a paper towel or kleenex in each pants pocket and when you put your hand in your pocket, dry your hands with them. That way, if you have to shake a hand, you don't feel clammy.

15 minutes before your presentation, spend a few minutes and count back from 100 by 3's, or say the alphabet backwards.

No caffeine that morning.

Remember that it's the before part you have to get past. The during and after is never as bad as you thought.

And something I do personally, is mentally put myself in an enjoyable place that I might be after the presentation.

 

[oldfella]

JWBH, I have had the pleasure of Public speaking on many occassions. OTH has some excellent ideas, the paper towel thing, works like a champion. What I do is try to relax s much as possible the night before. I have on occassion put some headphones on with some really calming type music, relaxation music what ever you want and absolutely switch off. Then get up and run through my presentation, speech before bed. When I wake up, have a good long hot shower and relax. Come showtime, just be you! Like everyone has said, treat this as you would any other board meeting presentation that you have done in the past. Think of your most successful contract and the presentation that got you that. Good luck bro, but you will ACE this. No trouble at all!

 

[hngrygrl]

this is pry too late

but go get em tiger!!!!

you'll do fantastic. If you need to picture nosmas, oldfella, or OTH in their underwear to help you, I give you my full permission. =) hehe!!!!


let us know how it went!

 

[Sassy]

You going to do great! Like they said... be yourself.

Good luck!

 

[JustWannaBeHuge]

woohoo

Okay, like I said, I was a bit nervous this morning, then the presentation was delayed. my supervisor came up to me with the sales rep and said a few things of encouragement, and everyone kept reminding me that I know that account better than anyone else there including the sales rep as I deal with the day to day issues and have such a good rapport with my points of contacts.

The sales rep gets up and goes over a few figures about how the account has grown, maybe 10 minutes in length, then he turns it over to me... i kept forgetting my opening line as I was waiting but when I got up there, I glanced and made a few eye contacts, and out of no where, it felt like another person started talking.

My sup had told me, "if you look at me and I'm scratching my chin, show more confidence in what you're saying, if you see me rub my cheek, control your tone a little bit better." she knew i was nervous... but when I started with it, I just had the slides ripping out, saw people nodding their heads in agreement with what I was saying, smiling, I was giving details without going to far to make it boring, everything went so easy, they started to ask questions and BAM, I answered them without having to even think twice about it...i wasn't sweating that bad either lol.. i was so much more nervous before hand, and like OTH said, the during got soooooo much easier as soon as I started talking. I just said in my head before everything "this is my account, my baby, I made it grow, i regained the trust. I'm the reason for its success"
please dont get me wrong, other people helped me it grow too, I just kept telling myself I was *da bomb* lol

honestly, it didn't even feel like me talking as I stood there, after a couple of minutes, it felt like everything was right. like this is what I was supposed to do.

after I was done, I got the hand claps, shook hands (i had the tissue, thank you for the advice about that as my hand was dry lol) people telling me how good the presentation was... it made me feel fantastic to get so many compliments.

In the past I would do things to avoid public speaking in front of huge crowds, I was good 1 on 1, but not public speaking, but I *had* to do this, no way I could avoid it...and I am so thankful that I did get the chance to do this. I'm not saying that this will turn me into the greatest speaker or anything like that, but I just realized that because of my past experiences with anxiety, i avoided so many things that could of had me being a lot more successful, a lot quicker. so many past bosses never got to see just how good I was because I avoided speaking in front of large groups like today.

My life is definitely changing for the better. you have no idea how pumped I have been all day. right after work, i went to see my daughter and spent some time with her (couldnt take her to dinner as her mom already had plans, but me and her are going to celebrate, she was happy that I did such a great job and she told me how she read a paper about history to her class. so it was a great time for me and her)

I guess I should get to bed now lol.

I want to thank everyone for the encouragement, advice and the good luck wishes, it meant a lot to me.

good night everyone
Rob

 

[buffbabeca]

good deal on the presentation and glad u got to see ur daughter and share that moment with her.. im sure she is proud of you and that means the world to you.

 

[Liphted]

Honestly, your story made me smile. Thanks for sharing and I'm glad it turned out so well for you.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Everyone gets a little stage anxiety now and then, so you'll get past it. You'll be anxious about it beforehand until one day after a while you'll just be thinking, "What the **ck do I need to tell these people now?"

It never ceases to amaze me how nervous a person can get themselves beforehand and then once you're in front of the whole world you remember that, "Oh yeah, I do know how to talk!"

Well congratulations JWBH. Sounds like you're sharkin' your way up. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were on your way. Awesome!

 

[oldfella]

Good job. Sounds like you aced it!! The more you do this sort of thing the more rewarding it becomes, not only financially rewarding but for yourself and your confidence. Public speaking can be a lot of fun and it will help you grow. Again, congratualtions on a job well done!


Now ask for a raise!!!

 

[JustWannaBeHuge]

thanks guys, i appreciate it all. OF and OTH are 100% right. years ago, i would have never been able to get up in front of so many people without looking like i just got out of the shower becuz of how bad i would be sweating. i was always so concerned what people would be thinking about me, so concerned of saying something and it not having any reaction to the audience. but on thursday, once i started to talk, it just felt so good. I know that account like the back of my hand, i received perfect scores when we sent our surveys to the customers on my job performance and we're grown the account over 36% in less than 10 months. This is a fortune 10 company btw. it has a lot of heavy hitters that i speak with on a daily basis, and i just had to convince myself that I do know what I'm talking about and I can complete a sentence in front of a bunch of executives lol.

the next presentation, i'm sure i'll be a little nervous like OTH said, but once i realized how good it felt on thursday, I don't think I'll ever be that nervous again. the confidence i felt during and after, even today, is just unreal... i'm sure the *buzz* from it will wear off soon, but I'm still feeling great as yesterday a few team members who weren't there came to me and said "word is you kicked ass" i just replied with "fuck yea I kicked ass." lol. i'm riding the train of confidence and don't plan to get off any time soon. okay that was cheesy as hell, but its 6:47am on a saturday, what you expect? haha

i was told that my interview should come up within the next few weeks, so hopefully, i'll have even better news for everyone. have a great weekend guys and gals, and don't let stuff stand in your way like i did for so long!

taking my daughter to the pumpkin patch tomorrow for a big one, so after we're done carving it, might post up a pic of my baby and the jack o lantern we create.

 

[oldfella]

JWBH, being a little nervous is very normal. It is what stops you from getting cocky, so keep a little nervous on hand! it will keep you honest and will ensure you are meticulous in your planning! Cheers

 

[JustWannaBeHuge]

Hey guys, thought that I would just update this instead of creating a new one. I did my 1st interview on this past Thursday (weird that both the presentation and interview both happened on a thursday lol)

I should know by the end of this week if I go forward with the 2nd interview with the director of the center.

I've been keeping a very positive attitude towards it, and with all the work I've put into my accounts and the way the presentation went and the interview, not to mention I'm an *acting* supervisor now anyway, I think that I should easily get this position.

Things have been so hectic lately, and my damn pc completely blew out on me, so I've been having to borrow my brother's laptop. I need to get some help from Kaiser lol