After 5 months of virtual presentations, I presented (physically) face to face at a school and here’s how it went... (1/7)

My employee badge allows me to swipe into any school in our district. However, I wasn’t trying to walk up in this bldg unannounced. I waited for the attendant to come. She asked a series of questions about my health then took my temp. We both had face coverings and gloves. (2/7)

I offered a series of 1.5 hour sessions to 3 different grade levels. There were 6 teachers in the room for each session (and some watching virtually). I wore my face covering and gloves the entire time. There were extra gloves and hand sanitizer in every room. (3/7)

I’m an animated presenter, so I used my hands a lot for directions and emphasis on talking points. I did find myself talking louder than normal to speak through my covering. I often checked for clarity and understanding before moving to the next activity. (4/7)

At the end of the day, my hands were sweaty, my throat was sore (disclaimer: from talking, not because I’m sick), and my eyes were red because I’m basically talking right into my eyes all day with this covering on (5/7)

You know I’m a rel’ship person so I’ll say this. My comfort level was higher due to my rel’ship w/ the leadership & person who asked me to help. Were there risks involved? YES! Was I nervous? Yes! When you trust & respect the ppl you work w/, taking risks becomes easier. (6/7)

Disclaimer: I said it “makes taking risks easier” not “100% safer”. And please don’t @ me with “What you should have done was...” We are all learning and testing this out. Thank you (7/7)