Mic Madness

The New Orleans conference I attended in Aix was held Friday and Saturday. My paper was scheduled for Friday afternoon about 4pm. Now, for the past month or so, I've noticed that I really need to take a nap in the afternoon, otherwise I'm just too tired. I usually nap at the same time as Maëva, so roughly between two and four. My paper was scheduled right at the end of nap time! As I couldn't sleep in the conference room in front of my colleagues, no nap for me that day. My panel was in a large enough room that a mic was needed for speakers. This particular pick was black with a five-inch square base, an eighteen-inch stem, and a two-inch oval mic. Not an inherently scary or problematic object. However, I discovered when I started speaking, that it was extremely difficult to position it in a way that was comfortable for me to speak into. Actually, I never succeeded. And all throughout my paper delivery (twenty minutes on the dot for which I was commended!), having the mic in my peripheral vision as I read was making me very dizzy and nauseous. Several times, I wondered to myself whether or not I was going to be able to continue. But what would I say if I stopped? "I'm sorry. I'm pregnant and the mic is making me feel faint. I think I need to lie down."? I would have sounded like a crazy person. All this was going on in my head as I was continuing to deliver my paper. I decided not to stop and was miraculously able to keep myself upright. I felt like my voice was sounding very funny. However, after the presentation, I was assured by several people that though they could tell I was uncomfortable with the mic from my facial expressions, my voice sounded just as it always does. I didn't really believe it when my friends told me this. However, it was confirmed by an outside party. A colleague from Aix who had never heard me speak came up to me at the evening reception and complimented me on the timbre of my voice, rhythm of my delivery and clear organization of my ideas. I had been feeling like it had been a catastrophic presentation, but finally came around to the idea that this was not actually the case. Phew! My reputation is still intact.