Presentation

Today, I had the job of laying out food for a parent gathering. The food had been chosen by another parent--I just had to arrange it. Not so complicated, yet, in my mind, the whole event--and I--would be judged on the placement of the cheese and crackers. I did a reasonable job, making sure people on each side of the table could reach a grape or a piece of bread, and providing stacks of plates and napkins in strategic spots. A respectable presentation, if I do say so myself.
 
Turns out, it was a different kind of presentation that really made the event a success.
 
In my daughter's French textbook, in the section on simple conversations, a commonly used phrase is "Je vouz presente," or "may I introduce." As good as the food I arranged might have been, it was the other "presentation," the introductions all around, that made the people want to come back for more. A few nicely arranged plates of cheese may have brought the group together, but it was the "Hi, I'm Tracy," and the "I'd like you to meet" that made tonight a success.
 
Years ago, someone told me that how well you did your job was not nearly as important as whether you were a person with whom others would want to spend the long work days. And that's what this presentation thing is all about. You can have the most attractive, well-arranged plates of cheese and crackers in the world, but if you can't invite someone new to partake, and in the process, introduce yourself and make that new person feel welcome, the presentation is nothing more than a pretty picture. And pretty pictures like that--they don't last.
 
They just get eaten.