I’ve moved from anxiety to eager anticipation. My Ignite talk is coming up on Tuesday, and I’m feeling good about my presentation.
After much debate about what I wanted to say, I’m confident I’ve honed in on the right topic. But having a great idea doesn’t necessarily translate to good execution. Many drafts and conversations later, my process has evolved into something (I hope) the audience will find compelling, entertaining and still relates back to the evening’s Women Innovators theme.
The tile of my talk is ‘Dear Mugger, It Could Have Been Different.’
Bam!
True story: I was physically assaulted on October 13, 2008 whilst strolling home in the Mission here in SF, CA. A woman ran up behind me and started raining down on me with fists, pulling my hair out, punching me in the face – just generally kicking my ass. I had no idea what was going on. She did not at any point tell me that she was after my laptop (a conclusion I later drew post-attack), so I held on to my stuff out of sheer shock. Eventually she gave up and ran away.
She was pretty amateur. By all accounts, this mug was one epic fail. She did not succeed in taking my stuff. However, if she had just made a simple request of me, I would have gladly given up my IBM ThinkPad and the $8 in my wallet if the alternative was getting beat up. No brainer.
In telling this story and the subsequent conclusions I’ve drawn looking back on the attack, the intention of my Ignite talk is to illustrate that effective (in this case, verbal) communication is essential in getting what you want. This translates into business, friendships, romance , mugging – all relationships.
At the very least, it’s been a hugely cathartic experience for me in putting together this deck. Thanks Ignite 
Practice might not always make perfct, but it definitely builds confidence. A big thank you to my clever, compassionate friends who allowed me sit them down with my .ppt and and show them my slides, continually asking them:
Is this boring?
Am I funny?
Do you get what I’m trying to say, with this one?
And all sorts of other annoying questions. Bring on Tuesday!
