Arianna had just begun her new position as a trainer. She loved presenting and had plenty of experience. One of her first audiences was the assembly-line team. Since their shift started early, her training sessions began at 5 a.m. This was early for Arianna, so she was not hungry when she woke up. Still, she wanted something healthy in her stomach, so she grabbed a big glass of orange juice.

As she began her presentation, some odd things began to happen. First, her lip began to sweat, and then she started to see spots. Neither of these things had ever happened to her before when giving a presentation. She decided to finish her point quickly and then give the group a break. Unfortunately, before she could break, her ears began to ring. Then she heard someone say, “She is turning green.” She woke up a few minutes later. She had fainted.
The next day, she went to the doctor and found out she was hypoglycemic. The orange juice, which is pure fruit sugar, on her empty stomach had caused her to faint. She was relieved to learn what was wrong, but she still had a problem: She had to go back and finish the training. She was humiliated. How could she go back? Then she remembered something she had learned in school—treat the situation with a sense of play.
How did her audience respond? Did they “boo” her out of the room? Did they request a new trainer? Of course not; they were very supportive. They were happy that she was fine. They even joked about how they recommended her trainings to all their coworkers because there were extra-long breaks during the fainting spells. Arianna went on to have a long and successful career as a trainer.