Recently I presented information about student’s experiencing homelessness at the Title 1 Network meeting, and I learned that it is ok to say I don’t know. Here’s some background into the situation. I had spent the first three weeks as the first and only VISTA at CESA2 educating myself on the topic of students experiencing homelessness. I literally read about the topic for three weeks straight, I was studying and trying to become an expert on the topic, which I naïvely thought was possible. I put together a short power point based on my research and presented to a room of about 20 professionals on the topic of rural homelessness.
I was so nervous and sweating, that I thought for sure they saw the beads of panic rolling down my face. I presented the information relatively faster than I should have, left out valuable information about McKinney-Vento (the law that supports homeless students), and was asked a question about a topic I knew nothing about, for which I simply told the woman, “I don’t know”. I was mortified. I sat in a room with this group of education professionals all day, and according to me: embarrassed myself beyond recovery. I had lost all confidence in the materials that I had studied for three weeks straight preparing for an opportunity like this to show my knowledge and put it into practice.
To my surprise and shock, I was complimented by two of my supervisors and told me simply that it is ok to mess up as long as you learn from it, and it is ok to tell someone that you DON’T KNOW. Everyone appreciates honest and genuine feedback to their questions, and sometimes the answer that is most honest and genuine is “I don’t know, but I will find out for you”. It is helpful and simple, and better than talking out your backside to a group of educated professionals. I also learned that my horrible sweating accelerated presentation did not turn out as horribly as I had presumed it had.
Things I would do differently next time? Present a mock presentation to people who are willing to participate in the office. This is helpful because you can time yourself, and get critical feedback that can save you from having a full-fledged, self-torture session after the fact. When someone asks a question that you aren’t sure of? Tell them, “Hey, I honestly am not sure about that one, shoot me an email with that question and I will get back to you on it ASAP”. Don’t depend on your notes to present, thoroughly memorize what you are presenting, have a conversation, and don’t lecture.