Late last week my web development colleague and I finished the first phase of a site redesign for a new client. I was asked to give a slide presentation on Saturday to the client’s constituents. I agreed and asked the approximate size of my audience. “About 50 people, ” I was told.

No problem. We agreed to give a static presentation - just screenshots - no live web demos. Inside of two hours the PowerPoint file was created.

It’s Saturday morning and I’m in a sport jacket, collared shirt, dark slacks. Enough black to justify my existence in a creative field in Los Angeles. But the audience isn’t 50 - it’s 150. Seated in a giant banquet room, around tables, all fired up from the morning’s agenda involving a non-profits’ structure and critical future election.

I’m introduced and I hit the ground running. Bang, bang, bang through the slides. Someone shouts out the word “updateable” is spelled wrong and that his teaching background justifies the comment. “Uh oh,” I think then retort the spell checker didn’t flag it (for once, Microsoft Word didn’t let me down). I keep going, just fast enough to keep them interested and moving toward lunch. I get my outro then a grand round of applause.

I’m going somewhere with all of this, really. Within a few minutes I would understand why people get in front of others and speak. Many times it’s only to sell or convince, but those people who do it to educate and inspire, they’re onto something. Various people in the audience came up to me with every compliment imaginable:

• Great job!
• Wonderful presentation
• You made it really easy to understand
• Your work inspired me to buy broadband so I can use the new site
• You should start an educatin business
• …and on it went

I gave the presentation to educate and inform and what I got back was much more… Acknowledgement, encouragement, business offers, and new confidence in my abilities - despite my conitnual attempts to sabotage myself. I like to think they gave me more than I gave them but I’m sure they’d think differently. That’s the power of getting involved, taking risks, and doing it with integrity. Now only to remember for the next time.

Related posts:

• Who thanks who when you’re paying a vendor to do work for you?
• Some inspiring words before the weekend

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