Don’t let technology ruin your presentation

For the past few months I’ve been collecting real-life horror stories for my upcoming book on career-limiting presentations. And there is one theme that is coming through loud and clear: technology-related fails.

From presenters tripping over wires and exploding projectors to email alerts popping up on screen throughout, technology seems to be a common problem. But there are plenty of measures we can take to ensure technology works for us, rather than against us.

Of course, there are cases where technology fails are out of our control (if it can happen to Steve Jobs). The best thing you can do? Keep your composure. Having an ‘in case of emergency’ anecdote prepared and practiced will allow you to keep your cool until the problem is fixed. In the meantime, your audience will be behind you 100%. You should always have a hard copy too, so you can carry on even in case of complete technology failure.

There will be plenty more in my book, but for now, here are a few simple pointers to think about before presenting:

• Make sure your email alerts are turned off
• Have your presentation saved on a memory stick as well as on your laptop
• Also have it saved on another device, like your phone or an iPad
• Check your devices have enough battery life, or plug in
• Tape down any loose power leads
• Bring your own adaptor for the projector and your own extension lead
• Don’t count on having a good internet connection
• Have a full practice run in situ, if possible

Simply Amazing Training offers professional presentation skills training courses for individuals and companies. Have a look around the website for our most popular training courses and presentation skills workshops, or call me on 0330 223 4392 / 0330 223 4392 for an informal chat to discuss your requirements.