The Empty Seats that Mattered

✈️ The Empty Seats That Mattered

By Maureen Zappala
Speaker, Author, and Former NASA Engineer

When “small” moments become your biggest impact

On October 27, 2025, I delivered a pre-conference workshop at the Service Nation Expo in Las Vegas — my hometown. It’s a massive event for the home services industry, bringing together contractors in plumbing, electrical, and HVACR.

Picture thousands of contractors, industry experts, and residential service teams.
And me: the former NASA engineer talking about impostor syndrome.

Oh, and did I mention I felt a little out of place? I’m comfortable speaking to mostly male audiences (that was my life at NASA), but this was a different world — a trade-based crowd of hands-on, skilled workers who build, fix, and install things with tools, not slides.

My workshop wasn’t one of the buzzy topics like AI or sales growth. It was about self-doubt. Not exactly the session you’d expect to draw a crowd at a contractor expo.

So when I walked into the workshop room and saw a lot of chairs but not a lot of people, I felt a sting of defeat and the quiet, sinking thought of,

“This is it? The room is set for 120 people, and only 12 are here? I’m a loser.”

And then another:

“All that time I spent preparing… did I waste it?”

I know, shame on me for being so shallow.

Still, I was paid to deliver this workshop, so I gave my all to those 12 people.

You know what? The people who did show up weren’t just interested. They were invested. They focused, took notes, participated, and came back after breaks and lunch. They connected the dots between their skills, their self-belief, and their goals.

When we wrapped up, the feedback blew me away. What I had expected to be a “loser” experience turned out to be powerful and transformational, for them and for me.

When Success Doesn’t Look Like Success

Success doesn’t always look like full rooms or big applause. Sometimes it looks like smaller circles and deeper conversations.

We tend to measure success by numbers:  audience size, followers, downloads, sales. But the most meaningful impact often happens where the spotlight is smallest.

Later at the event, Danica Patrick, the NASCAR driver, delivered a keynote that stopped me in my tracks (pun intended!) She said:

“When facing a new challenge, we tend to ask,
‘What if something goes wrong?’
Instead, ask, ‘What if it works?’
And even better, ‘What if it’s better than I can imagine?’”

That hit me hard.

The next day, I started hearing feedback…first from people in my session, then from people who had heard about it. Turns out, it worked.
And maybe it was even better than I could have imagined.

🪑 Your “Empty Seat” Moments

Maybe your version of “empty seats” looks like this:
Moments that felt small, disappointing, or underwhelming:

• You crafted a proposal that got less attention than you expected.

• You spent a ton of effort that seemed wasted or misdirected.

• You gave advice to someone who didn’t seem receptive.

• You attended a networking event where you connected with only one or two people.

• You pitched to a potential client who wasn’t an ideal fit.

• You realized the people who noticed your work weren’t the ones you were trying to impress.

✨ And Yet, the “Empty Seat Outcomes” Might Have Looked Like This

The impact went deeper, even if it didn’t go wider:

• The overlooked proposal resurfaced when the timing was right.

• The “wasted” effort built skills, clarity, and resilience for your next opportunity.

• The person who seemed disinterested later told you your words changed their thinking.

• The brief networking chat grew into a valuable partnership.

• The “not ideal” client experience turned into a powerful referral.

• The people you didn’t expect to impact turned out to be the ones who needed it most.

A Better Question

What if those are the moments where your work is doing its deepest work?
What if they’re better than you expected?

Take a minute this week to notice where you might be underestimating your influence.

Ask yourself:

• Who was in the room, and how can I impact them?

• What did I gain, learn, or prove to myself by showing up fully, even without the crowd?

• What if the size of my audience has nothing to do with the size of my impact?

• How would I define success if no one else could see the numbers?

• What does this moment reveal about my resilience, commitment, or authenticity?

• How can I remind myself that showing up is already a victory?

• If I truly believed my influence ripples beyond what I can see, how would that change the way I show up next time?

Sometimes the impact you make is quieter, slower, or smaller than you imagined, but it still ripples out farther than you’ll ever know.

Don’t measure your reach. Measure your resonance.

If your organization wants to help your team move past self-doubt and rediscover their bold enthusiasm, I’d love to bring this conversation to your next event.
👉 Learn more about my keynotes and workshops.