Ah finally Friday night - and the Joe Senser's across the way is calling my name for dinner.
First two nights were at Hennepin Technical College, which offered some interesting obstacles. Monday night, the wings in the back of the auditorium were actually filled with classes during my presentation in the lower auditorium. Unbelievably bad form - but we persevered. In addition, the sound tech was, well, less than helpful at the outset. He acted like he had no idea what had to be done, despite the title on his business card saying, basically, Head of AV. I was able to give him some guidance about how we could get the sound to work better, and the night went off OK.
The second evening was interesting as well. The back rooms were opened up for our audience to overflow into. Instead of being simply more rows of seats, however, they were set back a good 25 feet, and combined with large desks all the way up. A bizarre set up which created a bizarre dynamic with students so far separated from the rest of the action.
Rochester proved more successful, but offered obstacles of its own. I spoke two nights at the Rochester International Events Center. Located off the highway, a bit isolated, but still well located between downtown and the neighborhoods of the higher paid residents. The facility was great, the tech helpful, but the microphone - yikes. Despite battery changes and a request for a new mike between Wednesday and Thursday, the mike continually cut out between words, resulting in a rough road for myself, the teachers, and the alumni to maneuver.
I was able to deal with it humorously, and the student alumni managed to as well. For much of Wednesday, I spoke without a mike, just filling the room up with my voice alone. Worked well enough, I'd say.
Today is a day off - a quick trip from Rochester back to Minneapolis for a day, a stop off at FEDEX, and a day in front of the computer catching up with everything.
As I read through these Speaking Season blogposts, I realize there are some repetitive themes - and that's the reality of being a professional speaker, particularly a seminar speaker, where you are expected to give roughly the same message night after night after night, and it may not necessarily include any of the material you got into the speaking business to deliver.
If you're an aspiring speaker looking at the seminar business, keep my experiences in mind. While I'm having a lot of fun and changing a lot of lives through the programs I'm offering, it is not necessarily the experience I, or many people getting into the business from this end, expect.
I will continue to look for new angles within the repetitive process I am experiencing to share along the way, as I continue to be dedicated to helping you Speak...& Deliver! But now - its time to eat....!
Rich, congrats getting through these awkward speaking situations with the weird room setups. It's these toughening experiences that make us confident and professional speakers in the long run.
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