"Conkers shining on the ground; the air is cooler"
Last month, at our admin away day, I did a presentation on my role for my fellow administrators. And it was so well received that I was asked to do it again at this month's School Board meeting, which includes academic staff, to make them more aware of the conference support I can offer. That meeting was today.
I made a new presentation - shorter, and more formal, with more details about conference administration - and practised it yesterday in front of Alex and Mark. I didn't feel it went very well on that occasion, although they gave me positive feedback. I was very hesitant, and stumbled over some phrases, but it made me realise that I needed to go away and work on it a lot more. I'm not usually keen on writing down everything I'm going to say, or over-thinking a presentation, but as the wording for this one needed to be quite specific to avoid upsetting or offending academics with talk of money, I decided that I had to pin down exactly what I was going to say and write down things I was likely to forget. So this morning I went away to the staff room to be alone and practise out loud my wording. I even filled in some of those little note cards and numbered them according to which slide they referred to.
I was still VERY nervous when the meeting came along. School Board is the only time when all the staff in the school meet to discuss important things, and they only take place once a term, and so quite a lot has happened on a national scale since the last meeting in May. The Head of school talked about the financial state of the school, and the potential effects caused by an increase in course fees across the country, and then the new Dean of the faculty arrived to talk some more about funding cuts and other important problems. (And as usual, our academics demonstrated their incredible lack of perspective by complaining about the lack of a staff common room. I hope the Dean passes that on to Cameron when he sees him!) By this point, I felt pretty sick to be honest. Doing a little talk on conference organisation after all this doom and gloom seemed immensely pointless and shallow, and a waste of time really, and I would have very much liked to sneak away unnoticed. But my name was on the meeting agenda, and the Head of School Administration introduced me, so I rather had to go through with it.
I was shaking like a leaf when I went up to the podium (we were in the lecture theatre in which I had my very first lecture, coincidentally) but once I started talking I felt better. My notes definitely helped - I would have forgotten loads if I hadn't written it down. From what I remember, I spoke quite clearly, and didn't make a fool of myself which is always nice. Despite being scared of presenting in front of academics, I think they were still a friendly supportive audience - I suppose they know what it feels like. And of course, I had my fellow administrators willing me on from the sidelines. I think it was an administrator that started the applause after I'd finished, which made me turn an attractive shade of beetroot as I scurried back to my seat. People don't normally clap after presentations, I'm pretty sure, but it certainly made my day.
After the meeting there was a drinks reception in which I had planned to network and talk to anyone who had questions about conferences. Two academics complimented my presentation and mentioned conferences they were running, and seemed genuinely pleased to have discovered my existence. That's a good start, I think. I grabbed a much-needed glass of orange juice and then spoke to some of my colleagues, who were very supportive too. The Head of School Administration congratulated me which is a relief - it's always sensible to be in her good books. (Her date of birth, I kid you not, is 6/6/66 - I'm rightfully frightened of her.)
I returned to my office after the drinks reception and was actually pleased to return to the mundane activity of checking emails. Mark, my manager's manager, brought me a slice of millionaire's shortcake from the cafe as a reward, and Alex, my line manager, told me she was very proud. And then life went on as normal until the end of the day.
After work I celebrated with a bit of shopping - I got to the end of the month without reaching my overdraft, despite our holiday, which was another reason to spend money. I got measured for a new bra in Marks and Spencer, and in the last couple of years since my last measurement I have dropped a bust size but kept the same cup size, which is nice. So I bought some new bras, and a top from H&M, and the costume for next week's fancy dress line dancing evening. (I'm very excited about my costume, but it's a surprise for now.)
And then I came home and watched The Apprentice with James and got cross with all the idiots on that show, and now I'm going to bed.
I made a new presentation - shorter, and more formal, with more details about conference administration - and practised it yesterday in front of Alex and Mark. I didn't feel it went very well on that occasion, although they gave me positive feedback. I was very hesitant, and stumbled over some phrases, but it made me realise that I needed to go away and work on it a lot more. I'm not usually keen on writing down everything I'm going to say, or over-thinking a presentation, but as the wording for this one needed to be quite specific to avoid upsetting or offending academics with talk of money, I decided that I had to pin down exactly what I was going to say and write down things I was likely to forget. So this morning I went away to the staff room to be alone and practise out loud my wording. I even filled in some of those little note cards and numbered them according to which slide they referred to.
I was still VERY nervous when the meeting came along. School Board is the only time when all the staff in the school meet to discuss important things, and they only take place once a term, and so quite a lot has happened on a national scale since the last meeting in May. The Head of school talked about the financial state of the school, and the potential effects caused by an increase in course fees across the country, and then the new Dean of the faculty arrived to talk some more about funding cuts and other important problems. (And as usual, our academics demonstrated their incredible lack of perspective by complaining about the lack of a staff common room. I hope the Dean passes that on to Cameron when he sees him!) By this point, I felt pretty sick to be honest. Doing a little talk on conference organisation after all this doom and gloom seemed immensely pointless and shallow, and a waste of time really, and I would have very much liked to sneak away unnoticed. But my name was on the meeting agenda, and the Head of School Administration introduced me, so I rather had to go through with it.
I was shaking like a leaf when I went up to the podium (we were in the lecture theatre in which I had my very first lecture, coincidentally) but once I started talking I felt better. My notes definitely helped - I would have forgotten loads if I hadn't written it down. From what I remember, I spoke quite clearly, and didn't make a fool of myself which is always nice. Despite being scared of presenting in front of academics, I think they were still a friendly supportive audience - I suppose they know what it feels like. And of course, I had my fellow administrators willing me on from the sidelines. I think it was an administrator that started the applause after I'd finished, which made me turn an attractive shade of beetroot as I scurried back to my seat. People don't normally clap after presentations, I'm pretty sure, but it certainly made my day.
After the meeting there was a drinks reception in which I had planned to network and talk to anyone who had questions about conferences. Two academics complimented my presentation and mentioned conferences they were running, and seemed genuinely pleased to have discovered my existence. That's a good start, I think. I grabbed a much-needed glass of orange juice and then spoke to some of my colleagues, who were very supportive too. The Head of School Administration congratulated me which is a relief - it's always sensible to be in her good books. (Her date of birth, I kid you not, is 6/6/66 - I'm rightfully frightened of her.)
I returned to my office after the drinks reception and was actually pleased to return to the mundane activity of checking emails. Mark, my manager's manager, brought me a slice of millionaire's shortcake from the cafe as a reward, and Alex, my line manager, told me she was very proud. And then life went on as normal until the end of the day.
After work I celebrated with a bit of shopping - I got to the end of the month without reaching my overdraft, despite our holiday, which was another reason to spend money. I got measured for a new bra in Marks and Spencer, and in the last couple of years since my last measurement I have dropped a bust size but kept the same cup size, which is nice. So I bought some new bras, and a top from H&M, and the costume for next week's fancy dress line dancing evening. (I'm very excited about my costume, but it's a surprise for now.)
And then I came home and watched The Apprentice with James and got cross with all the idiots on that show, and now I'm going to bed.