Pre, while and post…

Well…I guess the language teacher in me speaks for itself in the title, BUT no, this is not a lesson plan based on a reading text… but rather my reflections on giving my first presentation at IATEFL!!

So the pre bit…nervous to say the least, and increasingly so as I attended other sessions before my presentation and found myself thinking ‘Why on earth did I opt to do this? Will anyone notice if I don’t show up?”

Anyway…after having a word with myself, I left Sue Palmer’s excellent plenary a few mins early to wind my way around the Brighton Centre to room 8. And then other people started to show up! Once I realized I wasn’t going to talking to myself I began to feel a bit better!

So the while part…I still felt a little jittery inside but I do have to admit that the feelings dissipated as the half hour went on… and I actually enjoyed myself :)

And then the post-bit …initially on a high which lasted for quite some time mixed with an enormous sense of relief that I’d lived through it, and sometime later an overwhelming tiredness came over me. What a day of rollercoaster emotions!!!

Thanks to all of you who allowed me to voice my pre while and post concerns and pleasures, and good luck to you if you are still to present.

Blog post by: Fran Sokel