I’m back from the Moodle Moot US 2018. This was a wonderful and overwhelming experience.
On Monday morning, I knew that I was presenting, so I arrived early at registration. I always like to view the room that I’m presenting in before I actually present. So I asked where the room was. There seemed to be a bit of confusion (there was a lot going on with it being the first day of the conference and such), but I was given directions to the room. Up to the fourth floor I go. There were some conference helpers putting signs up. They provide some direction – follow the hallway and turn left. I follow a hallway that seems like a back passage (it was), to a very large room. Oh, this is where the keynote is. Large room. Stage. Moodlemoot in two foot tall letters on the stage. OK. Someone misunderstood. Back down I go. I ask again where the room that I’m presenting is. Pretty much the same directions. Back up I go. Upon arrival this time, someone is in the room who confirms, yes, this is where I will be presenting. Butterflies start kicking in.
I head back down for the presenter meeting. I’m informed that my session will be recorded. Butterflies start doing loopty loops. I’m also asked if there are any changes to the presentation. The presentation that was provided earlier in the week is already queued up. Providing a copy of the presentation is pretty much standard practice. Usually, these are posted for those attending the conference as resource material. That is what my past experience had been. I didn’t expect it to be the “live” resource. Fortunately, I had fully prepared. I had added some additional speaker notes, but the presentation itself was done. I was also asked if there were any copyrighted images in my presentation – because they are going to record this. I don’t use copyrighted images in my presentations, so I was all set there. My presentation was to be fifteen minutes. Then, there would be five minutes for questions and/or movement. Finally, they let us know that there was a timer in front of the monitor. The timer would count down so that we could stay on target (this will be important later).
On to the presentation. I present regularly. I have had the honor and privilege to present and speak in a wide variety of places. There were a couple of presentations before mine (including the opening keynote in the very same room). So, I had the opportunity to relax, collect my thoughts. Chris Kenniburg was also presenting in the same room, but before me. He did a great job.
I had my presentation on my iPad. (This was because I had added to my speaker notes). On my iPad, I also had a timer. Just before going up to speak, I switched back to just the presentation (the presentation without the timer was a bit larger and easier to read my speaker notes). Naturally, this tempted the fates. I was introduced and started speaking. I finished the introductory section and looked at the clock. Still stuck on 15:00 minutes. Great. I look at the time that is posted on the slides (there is just a clock, not a timer). I try to calculate how long I’ve been speaking. I’m trying to do this while focusing on my presentation and what I have to say.
I finish up the second section of my presentation. I’m still trying to calculate how much time is left. The timer is still on fifteen minutes. As I start the third and final section of my presentation, the timer suddenly changes. 4:58. So, my guess has just been a little bit off. I try to pick up the pace just a bit without seeming obvious about it. I managed to address all the topics that I wanted. I did go over the fifteen minutes slightly, but not by much. I answered a couple of questions.
All in all, this was a great experience. I look forward to presenting in similar situations again. Next time, I think that I’ll leave my timer running.
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