Overcoming Murphy's Law

Just recently I was invited to speak at the Rotary Club at the Powerhouse, Windows on the River. Unfortunately murphy's law was operating and in full force. Nothing was going right. Even though I had been there before I left the house very early giving myself an extra hour and fifteen minutes to get there for a trip that takes ten minutes.

Good thing. I knew I had to make sure things were set up for the presentation. Just as I reached my destination, ( or almost), I came upon a detour sign. At this point I had to find a different route and ultimately I was re-routed through the city for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, which was a little nerve wracking, even though I was about 500 feet from my intended destination.

I finally arrived still with plenty of time and after looking at the stage I saw that I would be standing at a podium with a microphone attached. This is not for me I thought. This would limit my mobility and give me a feeling of being restrained. Good thing for me I brought my own equipment including my wireless microphone. I clicked the on button the power pack for the mic and soon discovered that the battery was weak and I would not be able to use it. Wow! I had meant to check that battery earlier in the week. Oh well too late now.

The technical guy showed up and some how I was not able to get a connection from my lap to top the LCD projector and of course the audience would not be able to see my presentation on the screen. Oh boy. Here we go I thought. He made some adjustments and more adjustments for about 15 minutes mean while the program is starting. Good thing I was not going to be the first one up to speak. I immediately thought about taking some notes from the power point presentation and taking them to the podium with me. The tech guy finally made the connection great. Great I thought. What a relief.

However during my presentation I reached a point where my writing was so tiny I could not read it. I did not have this problem the last time I gave my presentation because I was much closer to the screen because I had my wireless mic which allowed me to roam around.

Immediately after my presentation I thought about all the obstacles that stood before: finding a new direction; lap top not functioning; portions of the presentation not legible; mic not working, not to mention all the different ways I could have communicated my presentation.

For the most part I was able to keep my composure, and nevertheless I got through it and got a chance to meet some great people. Sometimes we have to overcome murphys law while pursing success.
Well that's all for now.

To Your Great Success.

Mel Richardson, MBA - Speaker - Coach - Visionary
VisionStar Enterprises