So much for not causing a commotion
So there we were, presenting to a group of about 20 or so. We were tasked with solving a company’s core Marketing issues and presenting them with possible opportunities to rectify their problem areas. Each member of our team had various sections throughout the presentation that they owned. After weeks, possibly months of preparation, I was confident that we would knock this out of the park. My portion of the presentation came and went as smoothly as I had hoped. Here’s where it gets interesting.
As I stepped aside to let the next person on my team give her portion of the presentation, I suddenly felt light-headed, as if all the blood was rushing out of my brain. As someone who has fainted before, I knew the telltale signs of when a fainting spell was about to occur: dizziness, muffled hearing, tunnel vision, cold sweats. Determined not to go down and detract from our group’s efforts, I did what I could to stay vertical. I recalled all of the lessons I’d learned through the years on how to combat fainting. So, as I stood off to the side of the front of the room, I leaned over as if I were tying my shoes (I think I may have been wearing slip-ons!) to get the blood back to my head.
That didn’t work. I squeezed my butt cheeks together to help the blood circulation as my aunt who is a nurse often recommended. That too, didn’t work. I wasn’t going to cause a commotion, so I made the decision to walk off to the side and sit down. As I turned, I bumped into one of our prop boards and it began to fall. I quickly turned back and caught the board with both hands. The next thing I knew, I was on my back still holding the board with both hands. I can’t believe I fainted. In front of everyone. I was so embarrassed. It got worse.
A close personal friend of mine was in the crowd and after he saw me go down he jumped out of his chair, ran across the room and yelled, “He’s seizuring! He’s seizuring!” So they called an ambulance, stretcher and all. After the paramedics were done with me and after I explained for the ump-teenth time that I had just fainted and didn’t go into an epileptic seizure, I made the long, painful walk in front of the whole room to a chair in the front row. So much for not causing a commotion.”
Kevin, Marketing Planning, MN
