The day I presented at a conference.
My week began with a great sense of determination and purpose. I was due to present the first pieces of my dissertation work at a research conference in Glasgow. I’d spent the days leading up to the conference intensely preparing and practising my presentation. The conference was bound to let me explore some great possibilities and create some new connections with a host of illustrious industrial contacts for whom I have a great admiration for.
After frantically cramming in last minute preparation at university I made my way down to the Scottish youth theatre, the venue that was hosting the conference. After checking in and dropping my jacket off I began to speak to some of the other student presenters as we got ready for each of our individual big moments. As we entered the speaking halls, we began the day with hearing from a previous graduate of our course Ross Baynham who has achieved huge things since leaving by starting up Instrmnt a unique startup that began life by creating a series of high quality minimalist watches and has grown exponentially since its birth.
Seeing Ross talk about the different stages of the evolution of his and a fellow graduates company and it was greatly inspiring. He shared with us some great lessons which included the value of utilising the power of startups as modern day banks, the importance of photography, and the impact that selling a great experience can have. It’s a product I greatly admire for the style and true quality of each part. I like the idea of having to build the watches yourself as it gives the customer that sense of belonging and creates a more personal experience that everyone can have.
As the day rolled on we were treated to the first of our student presentations alongside guest speakers and broke for lunch. In order to provoke conversations about our dissertation topics we were asked to generate a poster which would be placed around the gallery. I overshadowed my poster and received some great feedback and had some creative discussions around my subject area. I was very happy to have received some critical discussion and creative conversation with Ross, I thought the minimalist style of my poster would appeal to his minimalist style as a designer. This was the poster I had displayed.
After our lunch break we returned to our presentation halls and I was going to be up in the next session. Part of me was very nervous but on the most part I was excited to share my work and possibly gain some new project insight that I would not have gained had I not had this opportunity.
Before I was up to speak, Lauren Currie, a greatly inspiring service designer whom I had the pleasure of being introduced to last year was giving a talk about her interesting career path and what she has achieved in her time since leaving university. Service Design is one of the pieces of design methodology I am utilising within my honours year project and having her touch on some of the key touch points was a great starting point for delivering my presentation. Lauren is someone who I think everyone can take a great deal of influence from, and has started a fantastic movement called Upfront. Lauren spoke about how stages and platforms are not as diverse as they could be. Some of us are scared of being on stage in front of an audience. Some of us feel comfortable talking to our own teams or smaller groups of people but don’t know how to take the leap to talk to a large audience from a stage. This is a fantastic movement for which I have a great admiration for.
Before starting university I would have never have dreamed of accomplishing some of the things I have with public speaking so far and the way she is spreading these great values and ideals to make everyone more confident about an important life skill which we should not be afraid of.
The moment of truth finally came and with a few notes scrunched into my hand I had got up and began speaking about my subject area. As I began to rhyme through my presentation I felt a great sense of ease come over me, I felt this is because I was speaking about something I felt quite passionately about. I managed to engage the audience with some questions after and catch their attention with a few surprising discoveries I had made on my research journey. Upon concluding I had been asked a few questions which I had answered to the best of my ability. By doing this and then further taking part in a workshop Lauren had arranged, I managed to learn a great deal about presenting and confidence. Our body language can define us and it’s important we give the best version of ourselves as much as we can when engaging with the world because you never know what opportunities you may encounter on a day to day basis.
Upon finishing the conference all guests were welcome to take part in a networking event and some awards for the day were to be announced. When leaving the presentation hall one of my friends had told me to go on twitter and look at something straight away. I felt greatly honoured when I realised Lauren had tweeted a picture of me presenting but not only had she done this she had gave me a link with someone who could become a key part of my research journey in completing my honours project.
Shortly after this our lectures who had organised the conference to a great success presented the best poster and best presentation awards. I was astounded when my name had been read out for best presentation. I felt such a rush of happiness,accomplishment and achievement. After this I began to speak to some of our industry guests. I began networking to build contacts an asked questions to a great host of guests whom I wanted to find out more about and build connections with.
This was a fantastic night of opportunity, and shortly after I and few others joined some of the design agencies for drinks and something to eat.
Always say yes to pints.
After having a drink and something to eat I had to leave early, me and some of my class mates were bound for a trip to OFFSET in Dublin. A 3-day design conference in Dublin. As I walked toward the bus home I had a smile plastered right across my face I was brimming with a sense of great optimism, pride and happiness about what was to come. All the hard work and sacrifice I had put in the previous month and a half was paying off and I was finally getting to enjoy myself at this truly exciting time in my life.
Things then took a very unexpected turn for the interesting…
As I got on to my bus home to start packing my bag for my adventure to Dublin I was overcome with a horrific stomach pain. I began to sweat and literally scream out in pain it was at this point I knew something really wasn’t right. After being rushed into A&E in the company of my terrified parents I was quite scared. I’d never quite felt pain like this before and I’ve broken two bones at once in my arm before!
During my time, there all I could think was “Just my luck! I’m supposed to go to Dublin tomorrow and this happens”. I was truly gutted after the day I had just experienced and the excitement that I had built up over time that It was likely I might not have the chance to get away to my design festival. All my excitement and the brightness faded out of my eyes when I came to the realisation I would not be going. However most importantly everyone’s health comes first. After a few hours the doctors had diagnosed it as a tear in my stomach lining, something that was life threatening if they did not get to operate right away. After singing a consent form, being told that I may not wake up from this procedure and seeing my parents broken down in tears, I was rushed into theatre where I began to reflect on my life, I was in the grip of a real fear for what could happen next.
Luckily enough you are reading this story so you know how this part went !
With a great relief, I woke up in a daze some time the next day and was told everything had went successfully and began upon my road to recovery. Waking up I couldn’t feel anything other than relief and true happiness despite the pain I was going through that I was alive. Throughout the next week slowly but surely, I managed to get better and better but went through some true lows. As much as I was happy to be alive, I was gutted to be missing out on going away and seeing all my friends enjoy it. My whole world had come tumbling down. I received some warming messages of support and comfort from my friends , family and lecturers alike and this made it a lot easier. Throughout my stay in hospital I found that my mindset from the conference had actually been carried on and continued to serve me through my time there. For that I will be forever grateful. It’s amazing how one day can go on to teach you so many lessons that can continue to serve you throughout your life.
I found a bit of inspiration on my information board behind my hospital bed. It had a “What matters most to me” section and they had put my egg allergy here, which I found quite funny. I understood the medical relevance but this got me really thinking what did matter most to me?
I began to envision my future and got excited about everything that has to come.
“Do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life.”
— Marcus Aurelius
The importance of this really quote has really resounded with me upon reflecting on my past week. I had given all my effort and focused my determination into presenting and connecting with others at the conference because you never really know how one conversation could change the course of your life. For all I knew this could well have been the last thing that I had done in my life. I am well on my way to speedy recovery and with that in mind I left hospital today having learned many things.
Be true to who you are and communicate your individuality as best as you can. Learn from others, but just be you.
Never miss an opportunity for growth and always strive to make yourself the best version of yourself you can be.
Always give your best.
Nothing is more precious than the current moment. If this week has taught me anything it’s to make the most of the time that we have every single day. Engage your attention with the present and don’t miss out on the precious moments.
