Does a bi-modal distribution mean my I'm lousy at presenting?

The feedback is in on my April keynote presentation, and it's not good. My supposed-to-be innovative presentation with origami, game choices, voting paddles, internet links and group activities was loved by some but hated by more. I had a sinking feeling the presentation had belly-flopped (maybe it was the way folks ran from the room) but I wasn't sure until the data came in today. 20% Excellent, 20% Good 20% OK and 20% Poor. And lots of comments to back up those ratings. Yikes!

The nicest remarks received were, "it looks like you did a lot of preparation" and "you'd be fun at a party". Everyone has an off day, so was it necessary for one participant to remark about my "grating voice" or claim "I would rather have a gun to my head". There goes any aspiration I may have had as a keynote, comic or motivational speaker. At least the photographer captured a nice shot at dinner.

So what did I learn? Keep it simple, limit humor, use more photos, fewer links and yes, it's hard to engage 180 listeners in an interactive session when you're as distractable as I am. I think I should stick with the smaller groups, fewer slides, more photos and conversation thank you. With intimate groups at least I can see the white of their eyes before they roll back into their head.

Grandpa Bernie hasn't yet seen the Flip House

Daughter Elisabeth calls it 'flip college' since we started the project a year ago, and haven't finished it yet. Grandpa Bernie was a general contractor in his day. He's 87 and visiting this month with mom so we'll want his advice on fixing up our investment.

Mom and I launched into renovating the house by securing a car loan to purchase the property outright (a loan on my daughter's car and yes, we asked her first).


We then re-graded the lot to eliminate the drainage problem. We stripped the damp carpet and moldy drywall, and jackhammered the floor to put in new plumbing and drain pipes. Our carpenter Juan pulled down the concrete patio addition and replaced it with a 19x12 room which we'll make into the new kitchen, turning the house from 2bd 1ba to 3bd 2ba.





With the window and door replacements, the back bedroom is now legal (legal window egress). Juan still thinks it's funny that mom and I run the project (not my plumber husband). Juan makes sure I don't talk too much to his wife Rosa or give her any ideas! Anyhow, with the rain and wind, Grandpa Bernie still hasn't seen the house. It's on a steep gravel road, From the top of the hill you can see across the river to the next state. We'll wait for the mud to dry.