“It’s not what people say, it’s how they make you feel,” said our second presenter of the day. His loud, confident demeanor were as outspoken as the red suspenders that beamed from his suit. Our presenter was Dr. Joseph Trahan III; he was showing us how to ‘Spice up our Presentation Skills’. His credentials had all of our eyes gleaming with awe when he said he was the press liaison for the White House and is currently the doctor at Georgia State University. He proudly shared that President Clinton hugged him, twice. He too, much like all of our speakers at the conference, was an alumnus of the PRSSA and told us all the benefits that he received after he graduated and learned from his mistakes from presenting.

Some of his tips were the typical, ‘stand up straight’ and ‘be professional’. While others were how to pay attention and speak to the actual people in your audience instead of a generalized group and to be passionate about the subject you’re presenting on. His sense of humor and ability to make fun of himself with his mistakes kept us all intrigued in his presentation and inspired us to take it beyond the powerpoint slides that constrain us and more into the information that can lead to conversation and involvement. I enjoyed this presentation a lot because of how he got us involved and it seemed very relaxed, as if we didn’t have to show off our skills and more like an extremely smart peer that was just tossing ideas around.

It’s almost the end of my time here at the PRSSA Conference and hope that the stereotype is right when ‘the best is saved for last’.