After going through my first ever power
point presentation yesterday in the US, I was high up on cloud #9. People were
telling me I was a good presenter. My professor was happy; everyone else was
happy, and obviously, so was I!!! I had a huge smile on my face and my nose was
high up in the air (c’mon, it’s okay to be a little snooty)! I called my
parents later that night to tell them about it all. My mom was happy and said
she was proud. My dad said he was sure I was going to deliver a ‘kick ass’
presentation! I promoted myself to cloud #99 since both my parents
complimenting me at the same time is not something that happens on a daily
basis! I was gushing on the phone about how someone said that I was passionate
and animated when I was talking! My dad said, “That’s because you didn’t
deliver a presentation girl, you delivered a monologue as if you were up on
stage!” And that was the moment when it all fit!
When I was doing theatre in college, a guy
who helped me with one of the plays always said that portraying a character on
stage isn’t about being that character, it’s about just being in that moment in
the scene. It was wonderful advice but it was vague. How do you ‘be’ in any
moment? I just smiled at him and told him to only give me advice which I could
understand!!! But now, about 3 years later, I finally know what he was trying
to tell me! To ‘be in the moment’, you need to be passionate about what you are
doing. Then the ‘being in the moment’ factor comes in naturally. In the
presentation, I could convey what I wanted to, to the audience because I ‘m in
love with the work I do! That is all it takes to get someone interested,
whether in a character you play onstage or the work you present in a workshop. You
need to emote and show how much what you’re doing means to you. Passion is the
only thing that will make you feel good and happy about yourself. It drives you
to do better, to make a difference. It gives meaning to your life. By saying
this I don’t mean you need to be into all the big stuff like work and career
and life in general. That is needed but being passionate about small things
also helps. Like cooking or running or knitting! Just remember that you need to
fall in love with whatever you do; and if that is not possible, what you are
doing is just not worth your time!!!
