Photo by TheGiantVermin

I had to substitute for a colleague, who’s wife became ill.  He was supposed to present his program to his director, and because I had intimate knowledge of the program, I was asked to step up.  In other words, nobody else wanted to be put on the spot, and I was to be the sacrificial lamb.  Fine.  Oh, I left out one piece of data: I was given an hour’s notice to prepare.

I’ve seen this movie

Being a finance guy, I’m familiar with being interrogated by auditors.  I’ve also given numerous presentations in the past, so I’m pretty comfortable in front of a room.  I always try to do a good job with my preparation, so that I’m not caught off-guard on any questions.  I find it easier when everyone in the room is involved, or at least familiar with the material that I’m presenting.  This keeps it from being just another dog-and-pony show, where there’s no give-and-take between the attendees.

Thinking on my feet

Well, I didn’t have much time to prepare, so I put together a Cliffs Notes version of the program, a quick-and-dirty view.  I hit the highlights, hoping that I could use velocity to get through the meeting unscathed.  Oh, and since I had about 15 minutes remaining after I did all of this, I couldn’t do a proper run-through, a dress rehearsal if you will.  I’m lucky that I shaved this morning!  I didn’t want to look like a babbling idiot in front of  this director.

Put up or shut up

So I stepped up to the podium, and made a joke that my presence was a game-time decision, and that I was pinch-hitting for the program manager.  In the room were 25 people, half of which had no interest at all in the program that I was presenting.  Most were waiting for their turn at the podium, and were busy jotting down notes to themselves.  Boy, was I rusty.  But I did a halfway decent job, and answered any questions for which the director needed clarification.  The presentation was over fairly quickly, as I’ve seen firsthand the grilling these guys get each month.  I’d give myself a B- for my effort.

The takeaway

The takeaway?  Don’t let your skills get rusty.  I’m determined to keep a fine edge on my presentation abilities, just in case I have to fill in again.  Next month, even though the program manager will be presenting, I’m going to prepare my own pitch, even though nobody will hear it but me.  It will help shake the rust off, and hopefully help me regain my diminished skills.

Go forth and practice

So, if you have any muscles that you haven’t flexed in a while, you might consider giving them a workout.  You never know when you’ll be called upon to use them.

Read my adventures as I’m put on the spot: Subscribe

• Deming's Seven Deadly Diseases I've wrote about W. Edwards Deming and his 14 Points in a previous post.  You can read it here.  Today, I'd like to talk about his Seven Deadly Diseases.  These were the ailments that Deming saw as reason for the decline of Western Management: Lack of constancy of purpose to......
• Sun-Tzu Sunday, July 26, 2009 ** Maurice ** I decided to start a new feature for the summer on the Corporate Barbarian Blog: Sun-Tzu Sunday (can a Machiavelli Monday be far behind?).  Sun-Tzu was a military strategist of ancient China.   Each week, I'll present an excerpt from his treatise The Art of War. ......
• Seek Discomfort Photo by colinedwards99 There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy. - Unknown Just about every piece of advice tries to make your workday less stressful.  To-do lists help us rank our tasks in order of importance. ......

• The Japan Market Expansion program vol. 14 coming soon JMEC (Japan Market Expansion Competition) is a business training program designed to strengthen the skills of young business executives while fostering the development of foreign businesses in Japan. The JMEC program is centered on a competition to write the best business plan for client companies. Sponsored by eleven foreign Chambers......
• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days. Some of us are always looking to......
• Remodel with Furniture Arrangement There's a growing trend in interior design in which furniture arrangement is the biggest change in a room, while making it look as if it's been remodeled. It's certainly a budget arrangement, because it doesn't cost anything to move furniture around. A poorly arranged room can go from blah to......