Have you ever wanted to do something out of your comfort zone but never thought you’d get the opportunity to?
This was my dilemma applying for a panel at Dreamcon 2024. I knew I wanted to do more with my platform outside of my online presence. And what better way to do that than to present at an anime convention? I came up with three different panel ideas, wrote out all the details and submitted it to Dreamcon and hoped that at least one of my ideas would be accepted.
After several months, I received the news that all three of my panel ideas were accepted! I was both overjoyed and suddenly stressed at the idea of potentially presenting in front of a large group of people. I eased my mind by convincing myself that only a small audience would attend and it would be a fun, casual experience. Though I would find I would be proved wrong on the first point. I asked to present two of the three ideas, “How Women Changed Shonen” and “Healing Through Cozy Anime” which were two topics I was the most comfortable with talking about. I hoped that an intriguing topic like women in Shonen would catch some attendees attention, while healing with cozy anime would be a nice way for attendees to relax and talk about shows that put them at ease.
Fast forward to the first day of Dreamcon July 26th, 2024. I’m preparing all my materials to present and waiting for the audience to show up and to my surprise my first panel “How Women Changed Shonen” was packed with people! And there were even more people trying to get in! It was a shock to my system to see the amount of attendees filling up the panel room.
When I look back on it, I try to humble myself by saying it was solely because my panels were one of the first of the entire convention and located across from the badge pickup area. But thanks to my friends, I also try to congratulate myself for having such a massive audience attend my first ever convention presentation. In fact, I’d love to say the entire process went smoothly but in truth I made every mistake that you could make when speaking in front of a room full of people. But despite it all, it turned out great! So, for my fellow awkward nerds who want to put on an event, speak in front of an audience, or simply attend a convention for the first time. Here are some things I’ve learned that might help you.
I made every mistake that you could make when speaking in front of a room full of people.
But despite it all, it turned out great!
You Can Do It By Yourself (Mostly)
Okay I can’t say I presented entirely by myself. My friend Elexis did help my a ton and even spoke on part of the presentation also so i won’t say I presented entirely alone. Plus the convention sent a volunteer to help with passing the mic around and clicking the presentation screen for me. One of my biggest concerns was presenting by myself. Especially since so many panels I attended featured a group of people talking on stage together. But my panel was mostly me rambling about what I love.
Despite this though, a majority of the audience that attended both of my panels stayed for most of the discussion. And though I was at the front of the room alone, the audience quickly became my fellow panelists. Especially during the question portion of the presentation. Even a mutual content creator I knew online riffed with me on the discussion section of my panel which made for funnier banter. What started off with me talking in front of a room of people alone, became a group discussion on women in Shonen and sharing anime that heals you.
I will also say that doing it by yourself doesn’t only apply to panels. I’ve also attended anime conventions by myself and though it was terrifying for me as an introvert and self proclaimed social-anxiety-haver, I found myself quickly surrounded by fellow people that were willing to accept me into their friend groups for the con-weekend. Even when you think you are doing it alone, there will always be someone there to help you as long as you seek help. In the future, I would love to run a panel with other panelists consisting of fellow content creators. But even then, I will always make room for the audience to speak on the discussion as well because it makes it a richer experience.
Don’t Be Afraid to Start Over
Before I could get to the group discussion portion of the series, I had to introduce my topics to the audience. This is where my years of speaking in front of a camera about anime were supposed to pay off. Instead, I froze after a minute in. My mind was blank and I couldn’t remember the next point I was supposed to make. But before I could allow myself to panic I asked the audience if it was okay if I started over. To my surprise, they were very understanding and allowed me a minute to catch my breath, review my notes one last time and begin again. When you’re honest about your situation people are often kind and give you the grace to start again. It’s something I didn’t expect to happen but I’m glad it did.
Though I will say, make sure to practice your presentation more than I did as well as get comfortable with taking a breath before starting your next sentence.
Ditch the Script
One of my biggest blunders was over-relying on my script. In all my research on presenting I often read that you shouldn’t over-rely on a script or outline when presenting live in front of people. However when it came time to it, I found myself constantly going back to that script because I didn’t want to miss anything important. Despite that though I did still miss or glance over several major topics. Years spent scripting videos for my YouTube channel became my biggest weakness when talking live in front of others. There was no way to edit out the dead air or cut the section where I repeat the same line over and over. I just had to keep talking.
Yet despite making this mistake, the audience still stayed mostly engaged and interested. I can only attribute this to improvising. I didn’t plan to ask the audiences questions until the end of the presentations but instead I found myself asking them to provide input after each major topic. I may have leaned on their answers too much but in the end it worked. The skill of remembering your topics and being able to improvise live is something I want to get better at. It is the key to presenting and I wouldn’t have internalized that if not for this experience.
The validation of being seen and understood is priceless.
Be Authentic
Despite the mistakes and my extreme anxiety, I think what resonated with the audience the most is that I was simply being myself. I announced at the beginning that this was my first time doing a presentation like this and though this is something you probably shouldn’t say, a lot of people resonated with my transparency. I also was already deeply familiar with the topics I spoke about and the anime associated with them which made it easier to talk about them and respond to an audience member who mentioned a series. Many people shared their enthusiasm for anime but also felt encouraged by my willingness to speak in front of others despite my fear.
Just Remember…
As an awkward black girl whose super powers are social anxiety and rambling about anime for entirely too long, getting the opportunity to talk about anime in front of other people was both exciting and nerve-wrecking. However, presenting in a room full of fellow anime, manga and gaming fans re-established my reasons for continuing to talk about anime online. The validation of being seen and understood is priceless. It was one of the most rewarding experiences in my years of talking about anime and I look forward to doing it again.
I’m thankful for conventions like Dreamcon for believing in me enough to allow me to run two panels at their convention and I hope to attend and put on more panels at other conventions in the future.
