Sometimes I wish I had done what my mother said when I was a little kid and continued to take piano lessons and actively play the piano. The six years of piano were never a lot of fun, but I found that I did have talent and progressed my way up to be somewhat accomplished until my teenage years. Then it all came to an end when I got my first guitar when I was 14, and the piano became a thing of the past. The guitar suited me well through high school and college. I was a hit at college parties and the front porch of the fraternity house because of the sounds and lyrics that I would make up on the spot that usually were funny to the point of everyone laughing hysterically. Leaves not to wonder where my creative side comes from. But after college, with the arrival of a new job and setting my bar very high to have a great career, the guitar soon became a thing of the past. Which brings me to present day…
When presenting to clients or pitching for new business, you feel like you are on stage, and it’s reminiscent of my days playing a musical instrument. Yet, sometimes when you are up there, you look into people’s faces and they give you a look back like they are staring into the abyss. There is no emotion, usually very little cheering and almost never anyone laughing hysterically. Sometimes, the room can be as sterile-feeling as an operating room in a hospital, but you absolutely press on to continue delivering your message with no buzz or reaction from the crowd. That is the main time when I say to myself, “damnit – should have been a rock star.”
Trying to read people’s faces in a crowded room is kind of like an art form and hasn’t been made any easier by those who like to occasionally look at their cell phones to check an email or text while you are giving a presentation or a pitch. One can only hope that they are excited enough and making enough sense of the topic that you can keep someone’s attention and carry the room, although it is not always possible.
Yet, it seems like every day I go to work I find myself standing in a room somewhere (either in my office or out on the road), and it’s a mere attempt at trying to read people’s faces. It kind of makes you appreciate the ones who stand up midway through a presentation and either adamantly agree with your points or flat out tell you that you suck.