Congratulations on your win, for as long as it lasts. Thank you for sharing what happened and breaking down what you have learned.
I wanted to comment on communication skills. I am a former teacher. Part of being an effective communicator is knowing your audience. Some people are turned off by a rich vocabulary, some are not. Being genuine combined with knowing the audience helps. As a teacher I was both sales person and sharing what I loved. I was selling them what I love, in hopes they would love it. If a teacher doesn’t love their subject, how in the world are they to convince anyone else it is worthwhile? I was teaching science courses which mean I had to convey vocabulary and concepts though avenues my students could grasp. When I taught in the town in which I had grown up, everyone was familiar with the plants, animals, weather and traditions particular to the area. That was commonality I could rely on to communicate effectively. I moved to a different area and none of that shared foundation worked anymore so I had to work a bit more to come up with new ways to connect what I loved with my students. I have seen many scientists share what they love, but are not effective because they can not speak to the audience that are not scientists. Some are flat out rude, but others simply don’t know the audience so they don’t know how to communicate what they love in a manner to be understood. Propaganda is another interest of mine. To me, there is a fine line between influence and manipulation. Be honest and genuine in what you communicate.
I still don’t have a smart meter, but have made contact with a privacy group in my area to address a lot of tech in the area which may include smart meters.
I am rather pessimistic with the way things are going. Unless there is a significant change I expect “smart” will be required eventually. Despite that I consider it an important battle.