The day my coffee maker murdered my first big presentation

Last Tuesday, right before a 10 AM client call, my office Keurig spewed brown sludge all over my white shirt and notes. I had to present with a hoodie on and wing it from memory. Has anyone else had a gadget sabotage a career moment like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_alice6d ago

Hmmm, I gotta respectfully disagree with the blame game here. Your coffee maker didn't murder anything, it just spilled some coffee. That's a rough moment, sure, but a career moment doesn't get killed by a wet shirt. The real story is that you winged it from memory and survived, right? Sounds like you actually proved how capable you are under pressure. Maybe that hoodie made you look more relatable and human to the client. Respectfully, the gadget didn't sabotage you, it gave you a chance to show you can handle chaos.

dylanh976d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way myself a few years back. Spilled a full cup of black coffee all over my notes right before a big pitch. Had to stand there with a wet lapel and just talk from memory for 20 minutes. Client ended up signing, said they liked how I kept my cool and didn't make excuses. That hoodie thing actually sounds like it worked in your favor too. Sometimes the messy moments are the ones people remember you for.