If there’s one thing that most people hate, it’s public speaking.
I absolutely understand why they feel so anxious and overwhelmed by the idea of standing in front of a room full of strangers.
It’s extremely nerve-wracking to put yourself out there and speak up when people can so easily judge you. However, I think that it is extremely worthwhile to learn better skills when it comes to representing yourself in front of new human beings. All of that being said, I have recently endured one of the most embarrassing public speaking engagements of my life. As I attempted to give my presentation to a massive room full of people, I realized that the indoor air temperature was not going to be my friend. Earlier in the day, the central heating and cooling system seemed like it was barely operating whatsoever in this venue. I was a bit chilly, but I found that the somewhat stagnant air started to warm up. As the temperature increased I began to warm up for my big speech. By the time that I made it to the front of the room and stood at the podium, however, everything had changed with the central HVAC system. Suddenly, the HVAC units seemed to be running at full blast. Specifically, the indoor air quality control equipment was blasting directly at me. The air vents over my head were slamming me with ice cold indoor air as I attempted to read through my notes. The entire speech was characterized by me shaking and shivering under the powerful air flow. I’m sure that everyone in the room thought I was extremely nervous, in fact I was just freezing.