source: twitter

today was another prod review. this time i presented CT again and the mobile design. my presentation had no memes or jokes. i didn't have anything witty to add. i just went through the slides and said what i needed to say. from an asian culture perspective, i did a good job, but from an american culture perspective, i was cut and dry and people would probably forget i presented at all. to make my presentation memorable, or to present myself as someone interesting or cool, i needed to risk it a little. inject some jokes. make my presentation a bit more interesting. make it unexpected. i'm usually not against taking risks, but i always let my visa status and the fact that i don't truly belong in this country hold me back. i always tread lightly. i remain invisible and in the background, where i feel safe.

there is a clear separation between the great and okay presentations. the great ones often receive validation from the big C, and many comments in the chat, or audible laughs from the whole group. i find them enjoyable as well. it feels so natural and not forced, like it's just in their nature to do it that way. you can tell they put effort into it, but it wasn't engineered or cold-blooded effort. it came from a heart of play, a pure form of fun, distilled into 5 minutes. turning boring facts into interesting stories.

i wonder if they picked it up from someone. if they also presented in a plain vanilla format before. and if it was the very moment they were exposed to this alternative that unlocked something in them.

that night i had dinner with B at my favorite restaurant in SF, echigo home cook. we talked about the culture at our companies and what life is like working at a startup, and bonded over the similarities and differences. it's always nice to meet up with a friend again, where conversations immediately start flowing, as if we just saw each other the day before.