As a public speaking coach, I’ve spent decades helping people plan for what to do if something unexpected happens to them in the middle of a presentation. I had to take my own advice. I had COVID, and I ran out of air during a webinar I was leading. The more I spoke, the more I felt my eyes start to close as if my body were trying to force me into sleep to get me the oxygen I needed. I tried to push and plow through, but I realized that I wasn’t in charge of myself anymore.
