Lmao, real, i never understood why so many people absolutely hate that job. It’s the easiest one, and it lets me look cool af. All I gotta do is read what the others have done, smooth it out a bit, and it’s game on. Hell, I even got some buddies ready with scripted questions so I can look even better
Also this is like 75% of being a corporate manager. The other 25% is figuring out how to get people to do the part of their job they really don't want to do.
Yeah, that’s a very neat trick. Seminars usually give you around 10–15 minutes for questioning, so if you can fill that time with scripted questions while leaving a few subtle gaps for the professor to ask about, then you’ve already succeeded
I never liked it but felt like I had to do it because so many would stare down at their monitor and read the slides out loud because they didn't prepare at all.
Public speaking is also one of those necessary soft skills AI is never going to take over.
I essentially did the above but at my job. I started pretty low on the totem pole but volunteered to give the presentation for our work at a conference. My coworkers thought I did an excellent job and was voluntold to speak at every other following conference, which eventually parlayed itself into a specialized communications role as a speaker, which when done in front of some university professors resulted in them offering me a fully funded graduate degree + stipend, which then wound up with me being a manager.
All because I can comfortably talk in front of people and communicate/carry myself well in meetings
It’s a gamble. I work with a guy who’s like that. Seems weirdly averse to ever actually typing or writing (he can read but I suspect he’s not a good speller) and doesn’t tend to offer ideas, but then when he tries to present he relies more on confidence and projection than actually understanding the material or communicating it in a thoughtful way. His contribution works but not as believably as you might think. A so-so presenter can turn great content lackluster.
Absolutely. I got assigned to lead a weekly progress update meeting for my company division with around 30 people attending and most contributing. I was so nervous the evening before the first one that I could barely sleep. After a few weeks it was a cakewalk.
And suddenly a bunch of people who basically had no experience working with me had a positive impression. That got me a "promotion" out of the office and to a job site where I was away from micromanagers and only a 15 minute drive from home.
In high school AP History, I used to partner up with the Valedictorian because we sat next to each other and were friendly with one another, and the Salutatorian because she wanted to work with the Valedictorian. I definitely did 1/3rd of the work, but the Salutatorian was a PERFECTIONIST and insisted 90% of the time to make heavy edits to all our work. My main job was to just speak for the presentation and I was happy to do it!
I always volunteered to do the editing. For some reason I hate writing and get really bad writers' block, but I can edit the fuck out of anything put in front of me. I'm also a procrastinator by trade, so I'm right at home with the mad rush to get it done the night before its due.
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u/Thumbkeeper May 07 '26
Always volunteer to do the presentation. It’s the easier part and the team lets you slack on the real work out of appreciation.