Presentation

I've decided that preparing for a presentation and then giving it is a lot like Thanksgiving Dinner. Hours of preparation equate to one hour of production. The turkey is the most important part because it holds the highest expectation of the participants and will be judged against other turkeys eaten in the past. Was it moist? Did it have an exceptional flavor? Was it pleasing to look at? 

The other dishes are extras and are what sets this special dinner apart from all other dinners throughout the year. There is a vast difference in Thanksgiving dinner and the accompanying dishes at my Mom's house vs. my Mother-in-law's house. The style and presentation differ greatly and the experience holds certain expectations that very rarely disappoint. 

I spent the last two weeks preparing a request for proposal (RFP) for a large account at work and we finally presented yesterday. Overall, I think the entire experience has been really good for me. I have learned a lot about the formal process and I will be better at it the next time. 

Here are some of my "poor baby" moments:

• Get to work by 7:30 most mornings, get home by 8:00 p.m., spend one hour with husband, get back to work on the computer until midnight or later
• Very few lunch breaks, but lots of Monster drinks
• BOTH my lap top AND my desktop computers got viruses and inhibited some 'at home' work time that created more actual work time stress
• 5 hours at the office on Saturday just to 'sort of' catch up
• Knots in my back
• Several bad hair days
• I missed the Summit meeting last week and totally spaced the book club meeting on Weds morning :(
• I got to the printers late the night before the big day and had to wait around for the print and binding job to be completed - got home from work that night at 11:30 pm
• I found a BLATANT error in the Executive Summary AFTER the presentation (UGH!!!)
• I realized when I got home the night before we presented and, after dumping my whole purse on the kitchen counter, realized I left my zip disk at the printers - it had all the programs on it and I didn't have a back up anywhere

That's enough 'whoa is me', now for some great things:

• I got a new computer...it is SWEET
• A guy at work was able to de-virus my laptop - it is good as new and faster than before
• My new computer programs assisted with the creation of some pretty decent flyer's (something I have been wanting to do for a long time)
• Preparing all this information has ultimately made future presentations more about answering the RFP rather than preparing all of the supplementary materials (side dishes)
• I've lost some weight - I have decided not to weigh myself for a while, too depressing, but my pants are looser and that always feels good
• The zip disk was rescued by a work mate in plenty of time before we had to leave for the meeting
• I learned to ALWAYS have a data back-up
• I learned to ALWAYS review ALL the print material ONE MORE TIME before going to print even if I am sick to death of reading it
• Its done! I know I did EVERYTHING I could do to be prepared and I know I did the best that I could at the time of delivery

The presentation itself was interesting. My rescued zip drive wouldn't open on their computer (one more lesson - ALWAYS bring your own computer). 'Bye-bye' super power point...'hello' print job. We just moved on and presented off the print material instead, but it was a bit irritating since it took me a zillion years to build, sigh, oh well. 

The best part of the presentation was the team itself - we all took a part of the material to present and everyone did a great job. We started the presentation with a prop and a theme that we carried through the end, we had good printed material that outlined the RFP & our services and the turkey, or the meat of the matter, was leaving them with a clear understanding that we know what their most urgent needs are and we are the best company to assist them. At the end of the day, that is what really matters - We heard them, got a clear picture of their challenges and we came to them with solutions. 

We will receive the formal announcement on Monday, but I feel good about how things turned out. I will say I am ready to get back to the day to day work flow of the department and evenings at home with my husband.

I Am Grateful,

HB

Diva Quote: "Our work is the presentation of our abilities." Edward Gibbon