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There comes a time in your life when you stop for a moment and say, "Oh my god, am I becoming my dad?" For me, that was at World of Warcraft's Evolving Azeroth panel at PAX East, where I started nodding off no later than 20 minutes into the panel, my head falling limply towards my chest like Icarus's body into the ocean. Oh the folly of youth. 

I was embarrassed the first time it happened - I'm a journalist for goodness's sake, sitting in the front row of the Main Stage. Listening to people talk in dark rooms and making judgments about what they're saying is what I live for! Like my old man, I stick to a rigid sleep schedule and go to bed early, so it's not like I was suffering the consequences of an impulsive, 2 AM quest to commune with the spirits of Bunker Hill soldiers the night before. I did my part. 

But I kept falling asleep, despite the fact that I was also taking notes during the panel. After the third or fourth time I nodded off, I glanced around me, to see, to my relief, that I wasn't the only one failing to stay awake. Behind me, a teenager was sprawled across multiple chairs, while the kid's parent was out cold, leaning their head against their spouse's shoulder. It wasn't just me. It was lots of other people, too. 

The necessary convention panel ingredient is enthusiasm; without that, it feels like a staff meeting

Look, I don't need every panel to be a raucous one where a wrestler like Kenny Omega comes running out and pretends to destroy a chair (this happened at the Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy panel on Saturday). But I think panelists at conventions like PAX East should, I don't know, play into the fact that attendees are very, very excited about the topic of the panel. I've attended hundreds of panels while on the job, some of which were about topics I didn't know much about. But it was still easy to lock in, pay attention, and be entertained at the very least by people talking about something they love or have worked hard on.

 When panelists and audience members alike are joined together in an enthusiastic feedback loop, even if I know nothing about what they're talking about, I still get the chance to observe what a particular community's values are, and why they've taken the time out of their busy lives to watch the panel. Instead, the World of Warcraft panel had the feel of a board meeting. And who wants to see that?

I get public speaking is hard, and that so many creatives today have to perform marketing and PR duties that they otherwise wouldn't feel comfortable doing. Not everyone can get on stage like Todd McFarlane and bring the house down without a script. But what I've learned in my time on this Earth is that a really, really killer PowerPoint presentation can save the day. I don't need slides filled to the brim with memes or Comic Sans, but I need graphics and text and colors that keep me in the loop. Likewise, a certain level of stage presence and awareness of the audience goes a long way. Obviously, I'm in no position to be offering feedback to seasoned industry veterans, and I feel uncomfortable saying this stuff to begin with. But I felt even more uncomfortable by the fact that there wasn't really a sense of audience engagement going on. 

 And besides, isn't World of Warcraft's fandom known for yelling things like, "FOR THE HORDE!" and "FOR THE ALLIANCE!" in public? I think they can handle a bit of excitement. 

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