public speaking. i got this!!
 

last year i gave presentations for about 4 months. all around CA.

it was scary and i got better and better.

today, i had a big ZOOM meeting. it was so easy. i was relaxed and everyone was texting me that i was kicking ass. i know i had perfect rhythm. i talked for about 25 minutes.

i think this is going to parlay across to the job interview process!!! i am considering interviewing for a supervisor position..a temporary one in Santa Barbara. i dont think i will vapor lock!!

How can you not be relaxed when you are not wearing pants!

haha.. brought a whole new meaning to "hand movement during presentations"

Vash, I and the rest of the Pelican regulars all take partial credit for your transformation. Of course if you failed we would not accept any of the blame, just the credit for a job well done! ;)

Did you just imagine they were all in their underwear?

They probably were, but that's beside the point.

Way to go!

Hope you get the gig and it ends up being fantastic for you.

All it would take is one hottie.... WTF was I talking about :D?

haha..

i was so bad before. even getting up in a meeting to introduce myself and say what project i was working on would trip me up. and that was 20 seconds of talking!!

Imagine yourself being unemployed and having to get up in front of a bunch of strangers and 'sell yourself' to them at the unemployment office.

Vash, you have accomplished something special. You should celebrate it and take advantage of your unique skills. Let me explain.

Surveys regularly report that humans' (across all cultures and countries) greatest fear is public speaking. The number 2 fear is death. Think about that for a minute. Most people fear public speaking more than they fear death. In other words, a significant portion of our population, if they had a gun to their head and were told to address a crown of strangers, would say "pull the trigger".

Fear of public speaking is overcome with practice and training. Those who have mastered it have accomplished something very powerful - in some ways they have defeated death. You can be confident in knowing that not many of your peers have mastered public speaking and that you have a competitive advantage over them. You should use your skills and experience to rise in your organization. You should go far. There is nothing holding you back. Once you have conquered the fear of death there are no more fears to hold power over you.

Congratulations again and good luck!

thanks MRM. and all you Pelicans.

you all could convince a woman wearing white dress to eat a ketchup sandwich. thanks. :)

Jolly good show!

Good job! Be careful...because they will soon start questioning if you are really an engineer.

On the interview topic.

I am a professional salesman. Have been forever. Pretty good at it.

But, my interview skills were TERRIBLE. Why? I had never practiced.

When I figured this out. I wrote out some questions and answers and practiced with my spouse.

My confidence and eloquence went through the roof. I can't recommend practicing enough. It will give you confidence that will absolutely set you apart. Good luck!

Agreed with MRM, you now have a very rare talent.

Just remember....they imagine yer nekkid too....hope this helps :D!

I remember when you had fear and trepidation (was this a year or two ago ???) about going on the road to do presentations. We all encouraged you and had confidence in you. You jumped into it and came out on top. I hope it pays off for you in many ways.

The bad news, vash, is three fold.

One, public speaking is like a muscle, it is a skill that atrophies unless used. Before the CV I spoke at a conference after a year or so lay-off from public speaking and for the first five minutes it was an out of body experience: I could see myself folding like a pair of Walmart flip-flops.

I recovered, thankfully, but was sweating, an old metaphor, like a glass of iced tea.

Secondly: When you are good at it, the word gets out.

Lastly. You really aren't a good public speaker...you have been talking to other engineers, not exactly the audience at open mike night at the Apollo Theater.

I am kidding on the last point. Well done. Use it or lose it.:D

Good morning! But I digress...

Remember that printer commercial? He's a LOT better than I would be :D

I once got a new job that was totally unrelated to anything I had done before. The first of our customers that I talked to called up and introduced himself. He asked me to come to their location for a visit that week so we could get to know each other. I showed up at around 2PM that Thursday as scheduled. The guy I talked to on the phone introduced himself and said: "follow me." He led me through the building and though a door that I assumed was his office/work area. As we walked into the room, I realized that we were actually a lighted stage of an auditorium. There were about 500 in the audience. He pointed to a microphone and said: "you have the next hour...but we can give you more time if you want" and left the stage.