My big presentation

The Clerks Retreat was different from anything that I had ever experienced.  I was surprised to find out that 14 out of the 15 county clerks in Arizona are women; and the only male clerk sent his deputy clerk (a female) to attend in his absence. The county clerks all stayed the same Phoenix hotel and used their conference rooms for meetings. The day time was reserved to discuss work related matters, the evenings were designated for leisure/personal time and meals were eaten as a group.

My presentation was scheduled for Friday morning at 9 AM (the final day of the retreat). When I arrived at the hotel, I was directed to a small outdated conference room with a little “kitchen area” in the corner. Some of the clerks brought their deputy clerks with them, so there were about 20 people in attendance. The clerks were in the middle of discussing a topic so I sat quietly to the side.

The speech that I drafted for my presentation included a brief introduction about me and my internship project, and then would specifically discuss how changes with the liquor license process would affect their office. I previously shared this information with my supervisor before I knew that I would be tasked with presented at the retreat.

When it was time for my presentation, my supervisor went into great detail when she introduced me and ended up explaining several points that were outlined in my speech. When it was my time to talk – I was stunned and didn’t know where to begin. I had to quickly scan my outline and figure out what points my supervisor did not discuss.

In the end, I was able to deliver the necessary information and respond to people’s comments. Both of my supervisors that were in attendance praised my presentation and said I was confident and well prepared. They had no idea that their introduction messed me up.