Audio Visual Equipment Use - Part 1

One company used to require effective presentations

To your point about training.  The company I started working for out of grad school (20 years ago, sigh) actually required a 1-day effective presentations course for all new professional employees.  It included being taped with a 20 minute presentation, back in the day when there was no Powerpoint, with feedback from the whole class (of 8).  That was a wonderful start.  Alas, that company has hit on pretty hard times and no longer has that sort of training budget.  But the three effective presentations classes I took through that company (all with videotape critiques) have paid huge dividends.   People have laughed at me because if it's an important presentation, I do script the presentation in the notes field in PPT, rehearse it a dozen or so times, and then don't need my notes.  Laugh away.  But when I needed to nail a presentation (to get the job I have now), all that paid in spades.  

What hit me listening to the presentation, though, was asking myself what I need to do to pay that debt forward.

On preloading slides

In general, I agree with the comments about using your own laptop.  In a lot of technical conferences, however, this is not permitted and generally for good reason.  The talks are stacked one on top of the other, and the conference requires the presentations to be pre-loaded to keep the sessions on schedule.  In those circumstances, you have to roll with the program.

The one place where I've seen insisting on your own laptop backfire, however, is where one speaker in a series (at a meeting) insists on using his own laptop.  More than once, it's been because the speaker didn't finish the slides until during the previous presentation, which is truely bad.  But it disrupts the flow of the session and I've seen it create some negative feelings among the audience.  I'd say that many more times than not, using your own laptop is good, particularly if you're able to get into the room beforehand, rehearse with the presentation equipment, and you know it works.  But I've seen it backfire -- particularly when they couldn't get it to project on the particular equipment in the conference room.  And everybody else has cooperated and pre-loaded their slides on the conference room PC.

Those technical conferences...

...are wrong. I've sat through them.  The requirement is based on a false premise and poor management of time and speakers.  The idea that the time of switching slides is the problem is hilarious.  It's not the slides or the equipment...it's incoherent speakers going right up to the limit.  Any point that can be made in an hour can be made in 45 minutes.

And in a small conference room, if you can use your own remote, or you have the SAME remote as the laptop there, that makes sense...but again it's all based on a false premise.

The only meeting I've ever heard of that might truly justify pre-loading (20 3 minute presentations in one hour!) doesn't require it.  Hmmmmmm.

And, presentation training... LOVE IT!

Web casts & video conferencing

For your next update on presentations, cover web casts & video conferencing.  These are get being used more frequently where the recommendations would be different from in-person meetings/presentations/conferences.

How to mute the slides

When you talk about "mute the slides", how do you do it? Do you just turn off the projector? Some options in Powerpoint? Can it be done using a remote controller as well?

RE: How to mute the slides

To "mute" a slide in PowerPoint while in slide show mode, press

B or "." to toggle blanking the screen to black (as if the projector is turned off)

W or "," to toggle blanking the screen to white

For more keyboard shortcuts while presenting, press F1 while in slideshow mode.

Some presentation remotes support this feature.  To increase the likelyhood that you'll use this slide muting technique, find a remote where the button is easy to press.  Some want you to hold multiple buttons down simultaneously (I have one) forcing you to look down to use fingers on both hands to find and press the buttons while loosing contact with the audience.  Better to have a remote where it's one button that you can find by feel and press easily without loosing the eye-contact with the audience.

Presentation Remotes

Mike/Mark- Could you please identify the models of the presentation remotes you use?  The features aren't clearly identified on amazon for many of the remotes (and i want to make sure the "muting" feature is included!

Also, if there are any other recommendations for good remotes, i'd love to hear them.

Presentation Remotes

Mike/Mark- Could you please identify the models of the presentation remotes you use (you called out Kensigton and Interlink Electronics as the brands)?  The features aren't clearly identified on amazon for many of the remotes (and i want to make sure the "muting" feature is included! 

Also, if there are any other recommendations for good remotes, i'd love to hear them.

Kensignton remote

I use a Kensington remote.  It is very simple with only 4 buttons.  Slide advace, back, laser pointer and a blank screen button.  I just carry it in my briefcase all the time. 

It has always worked on any machine I was using to present Powerpoint slides.  I love the fact that I don't have to stand there by the computer. 

www.amazon.com/Kensington-33374-Wireless-Presenter-Pointer/dp/B000FPGP4U/ref=sr_1_1

Re: Kensington Remote 33374

That's the remote i was looking at when i wrote the post!  It doesn't say anywhere what he bottom button did - i thought it was likely slide-hide, but wasn't explicit in any of the documentation.  It looks like a good cheap way to go.  Will probably be purchasing it soon!  Thanks for the response!  J