[hamster-bamster]

I do not have to do it in my current position, but in the past I had to use a projector in meeting rooms. No matter how many times I used it, something went wrong. Other people, use technology with ease and proud of it. Me, no way. I remember being all cold from anxiety and fear that I would not be able to project.

Anyone else with it?

[beatles1234]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

I do not have to do it in my current position, but in the past I had to use a projector in meeting rooms. No matter how many times I used it, something went wrong. Other people, use technology with ease and proud of it. Me, no way. I remember being all cold from anxiety and fear that I would not be able to project.

Anyone else with it?

I can relate to this, whenever I would have to use a projector or computer for a school project it would cause really bad anxiety. Half the time I did everything right but I was so nervous I would mess it up somehow, that something would go wrong. I have no problem using technology for personal use or anything. I always felt so jealous of everyone who could do a presentation using a projector with such ease.

[Tsuki632]

Even the technologically inclined live in fear of technology during presentations. . . they just hide it better. You can't control it. Things will go wrong or they won't. A cable will be faulty and there is nothing you can do about it, or know before hand.

Cut yourself some slack. I was at a conference presented by a high-tech company that makes state of the art medical equipment and some of their PhD's and computer science whizzes had trouble with the powerpoints.

[eskielover]

My firmware engineering career was one where I had to learn how to work with all the hardware since that was what I was programming.....hooking up all the test equipment after learning how to do it was really easier than I ever thought it would be.

After my career ended......out on pernament disability....but basically look at it as retired, all my friends need computers hooked up or their TV system wired to work.......I get the fun of making their things work. I usually can figure out what is wrong when something isn't working.....but that pressure of feeling what if I can't is always there & sometimes it takes a couple of tries to figure out exactly WHAT is the problem.....but can usually figure it out.

Now, the funny thing about this.......when I had just changed majors in college to my accounting/computer science major....I was working part time at a paint warehouse doing the data entry. My data entry machine (basically the old keypunch......dating myself here) was working the night before when I left.......came in & NOTHING.....couldn't even get it to power on......ended up calling the IBM guys to come out & look at the machine......to my embarrassment, somehow the electric plug had been unplugged between the time I left the night before & when I came in the next morning (cleaning crew????? probably). That was my major lesson in life......when something doesn't work......FIRST CHECK IF THE POWER IS PLUGGED IN.....lol. I learned my lesson good......never was so embarrassed in my life. Now anytime something isn't working as in not even powering up....first thing I check is whether it's plugged in to the electricity or not.

Never would have thought that I could go from someone who couldn't even tell if a machine wasn't working because it wasn't plugged in......to someone who everyone asks me to fix their connection problems & show them how to do the techie things even on the computer. Showing friends how to do things that I have never done before myself is the real challenge......but I can usually figure it out with enough time & patience......but when pressure is on....all bets are off on getting things to work quickly.

[Nammu]

No technology needed for me, just being in front of people does that to me now. The funny(funny strange-not funny ha-ha) part is that I used to be pretty good at presenting things. I sold art on a commission the summer before my first year at the university. I used to give speeches on how to treat a disabled person(the same as any one else-if they make you mad then tell them they deserve to know), or speak on panels and I had no problems in classrooms, until I returned to school for a different major and had to take another speech class and found I couldn't do it any more. I literally found myself in a cold sweat shaking so badly they thought I was going to pass out. The comments were always variations of "your speech was really interesting you just need to have more confidence in yourself"!!. Right! Add any technology to that it gets 10X worse, back in the day, there wasn't any power point and all the rest of the computer stuff along with every possible nano problem from the plug to forgetting to bring the memory stick or leaving the lap top at home. Thankfully the plug in not being plugged in never happened to me, not yet any way. Since I almost always say "NO" to any requests, I think I'm safe now. If I do say yes, I can always take an ativan and still fuction.