Recently, I presented to a group of entry-level fundraisers. This shouldn’t have been daunting, but the material wasn’t mine, and I had sworn a bunch of oaths to present it as precisely as possible.
Turns out, the material for my presentation and others in the workshop: slides, worksheets, and talking points; was dry as toast. This was sad because the topic is one I am passionate about, and with which I have extensive experience. I was really looking forward to the presentation until I realized the volumes of information I was going to have to be sure to cover.
I was sitting in the hallway, waiting for my time to present, going through my notes, when a conference attendee emerged from the room, doubtlessly stretching her legs in an attempt to stay conscious.
“Excuse me,” she said, “I wish the presenters at this conference would stick less to the script and instead tell us more about personal experiences, I mean, that’s why we’re all here, to learn from what you’ve done.”