I had a chance to give an educational presentation on branding last week to a group of small business professionals. I prepared weeks in advance and crafted my story from an outline to a finished presentation in Apple Keynote. Each of the slides had great graphics or photos and the transitions worked well.
To make sure that the presentation would flow well, I gave a shortened version to an advanced Toastmasters group the week before. This version was done without slides, and I received a 10 minute round-robin evaluation after it was done. This really helped me see the shortcomings in my story. I spent the next few days tightening everything up.
Come Friday afternoon, I was prepared. My slides were in order, my laptop was charged, and my new shirt and tie were pressed and looking good. As my turn to speak came up, I put on my suit jacket, grabbed my MacBook Pro, walked up to the smart podium, connected up the projector cable and waited for my first slide to come up on the screen.
It didn’t connect
I fumbled with the cables, tried different keystrokes, and it still didn’t connect.
I started to sweat, thinking about weeks of work going up in smoke. The audience was getting restless. Here I am, a technology guy, having problems with my Mac and a projector. Pictures of Steve Jobs popped into my mind. Apple products just work… except when you are in front of a restless audience.
Finally, I was just about to give up, when my screen flashed. My first slide popped on the screen, the lights dimmed and I was ready to go. I walked out in front of the podium, addressed the audience, and clicked the button on my Apple remote to advance to the next slide.
Nothing happened
Now the sweat was really coming back. I pressed the button again and still nothing happened. Finally, I turned and faced the podium which was on my left side, aimed the remote at the MacBook, pressed the button, and the slide advanced. ARRGGH.
Finally, I was underway. Except now my mind was full of frustrating details and workarounds to make the slideshow work. My focus and concentration were now on the laptop and projector instead of my audience. My voice stumbled for a minute. I took a deep breath, faced my audience, and began anew.
What had been a smooth story in my mind at home was now a real problem. I glanced over at the podium, hoping to see my presenters view on my laptop which would quickly show me the next slide. Unfortunately, the podium had a large back edge which blocked my view. I was now on my own. 30 slides to go. My memory kicked in and slowed my thoughts to a crawl.
My smooth practiced presentation, now became a jumbled mess as my mind tried to fit too much information into my conscious mind at one time. A huge battle ensued between remembering the speech and trying to figure out what slide was coming next. In frustration, I took my eyes off my audience and faced the screen, while advanced the slides.
Now the remote didn’t work again. I became a contortionist and held the remote behind my back and tried to aim it at the podium without looking. Talk about out of kilter, I had to be a spectacle to my audience. I took another deep breath, focused back on the screen and advanced to the next slide. In a few minutes I had a semblance of flow going, but now the timer at the back of the room was signaling. I had to wrap it up. Now I had to speed up, cut material, and get through my remaining slides.
I finally made it through and sat down.
I could not believe all of the problems that I encountered. We were in a brand new classroom, at a state of the art junior college, with some of the latest projection technology. Yet everything went wrong.
The interesting thing was, the next five presenters all had problems too. The laptops wouldn’t sync, the sound didn’t work, and it was a general mess at the beginning of each presentation.
As the meeting came to an end, I met with the organizers of the event. We agreed to meet and discuss what could be done to make this process better the next time. Here are three thoughts that I had…
- Have one laptop setup in advance and have everyone’s presentation pre-loaded. This would require that all presenters use the same program and version and get to the event early to copy their files over and make sure they work. Unfortunately this would probably preclude using a Mac and Keynote, since most presenters will have a PC with Powerpoint.
- Have a good wireless remote that works throughout the room, with a black screen button and laser pointer.
- Have each presenter go completely through their slides and make sure that any audio or video works with the default laptop.
The other idea that I had would be to create the ultimate presenters toolkit which would use some of the latest technology to create a solution that you could take anywhere and present with ease. We will look at this idea in a future post!
Question: What solutions have you come up with for presentation problems?
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Argh. That post made ME break out in sweat! Nothing is worse than this scenario.
This is why I always insist on a sound-check before I speak. I want to make sure that the sound AND my slides, audio feed, lights, etc. are all set correctly.
Thanks for sharing such an honest post!
Thanks for the comment, Michael. The real problem seemed to be the long video cable from the smart podium to the projector. The laptops had a real problem syncing. Our Toastmasters group meets at this college on a regular basis, but they rotate classrooms on us, so we are never sure what setup we will get. In this case, I was number five out of ten different presenters and someone else was already hooked up and ready to go.
It’s also interesting how many new conference rooms are setup with a smart podium way off to one side of the room. This is a terrible place to speak from and it makes it almost impossible to situate your laptop for presenter’s view if you decide to speak in the center of the room. I’m going to propose a presentation solution later in the week that will bypass all this mess. I hope to be able to test it soon and give an honest users viewpoint.
I’ve had the priveledge of seeing you speak a few times and know how well your speech interfaces with your slides. I really like your idea of a soundcheck. As I found, all it takes is one problem to mess up your flow.
This is why I make sure to have some sort of back-up plan; even one that is done without presentation slides. Ultimately, my goal is get my speech across – if it happens with slides, great! But I feel like I shouldn’t have to rely upon them to communicate.
In my 15 years with Toastmasters, I’ve seen a lot of great speeches, but very few polished PowerPoint presentations. When you can get the speech and the slides working in true harmony it can be magic. Otherwise, it can be a huge distraction. I want to get to the point that I can tie the two together and present with confidence. I’ve got a ways to go, but I really appreciate everyone’s feedback. It really helps to hear about other people’s experiences.
The best solution is to use their hardware but have everything on a USB stick, including the software you want to run your presentation (see portableapps.com). Some people I know carry a complete Linux operating system with them. As a backup, have a copy in the cloud (e.g. Google docs) as well.
John, I am sorry, but I could not finish the post! I was so frustrated for you (been there!) that I had to drop out when the remote would not work. I simply could not take it!
I look forward to your solution!
It’s funny how everything worked well at home but not on-site. In my regular job, I work with hundreds of teachers and administrators who use PowerPoint on a regular basis. I’ve seen almost every conceivable problem and have had to find solutions to many of them on the fly. I guess it is job security, but someone (Apple maybe?) needs to come out with a better solution for the traveling presenter.
Whenevet I am in a group of 100 or higher, I always have someone else focus on the mechanics of the presentation. That way if everything tanks, the speaker can speak not turn into a roadie.
I learned that fr large market radio stations who would always have one engineer to handle the equipment freeing up the talent to be entertaining.
That is a great point. Having a site tech on-board who is familiar with the equipment can solve a myriad of problems. I’ve been that guy many times and saved quite a few presentations.
The main thing to remember is: your slide show is NOT your presentation – you are. Powerpoint is great when used effectively as a visual aid for photos, simple text, video or even sound bites, but your presentation must be able to stand on its own with or without electronic support. Handouts are a big help, but a well prepared speaker might also have a flip chart handy, a dry erase marker (to use the white board if available), large printed graphics (3′ x 4′ to be seen from back of room) of essential visual aids to use in case projection system fails, and the presentation should be practiced for both the intended delivery if all goes well, and the “plan B” delivery, assuming everything goes wrong. Practicing your vocal audible voice is also important so that your voice can carry to the back of the room; never assume the PA system will work correctly.
So true, Steve. I’ve been in all sorts of situations over the years and it always pays to have a backup plan. I was at a huge NSA event a few years ago and one of the top speakers had a laptop sync problem. A tech came out and worked on it for five minutes. After that the woman speaker calmly thanked him for his help, turned off the projector and pulled out large display cards from her supplies. She had the audience move in and gave a rousing presentation using the cards and an easel.
In the future, I’m tempted to put the PowerPoint aside and just give a normal presentation in unfamiliar situations. While PowerPoint can add relevance, it can also be a big distraction. Having a clear mind and focus when speaking is paramount.
Hi John,
What a nightmare situation! It makes for very sobering reading, so thanks for posting.
Given that your presentation was in Keynote, I did find the title rather odd though:
“Why Is… Powerpoint… So Difficult?”
Granted, the word “PowerPoint” probably brings in more readers than “Keynote”, but saying “PowerPoint or Keynote” would seem to reflect your main point better, while not pointing any fingers in the wrong direction!
Hi Craig,
Thanks for the comment. I usually use the word “Powerpoint presentation” instead of Keynote presentation, because Keynote would infer that I’m the keynoter of the evening. Since Keynote can mean the type of presentation or the actual program, I prefer to use the word Powerpoint since most people are more familiar with it. If I’m talking with an Apple oriented audience, using the word Keynote makes more sense.
Thanks for the heads up on the wireless presenter. I’ve used an interlink model before with good success, but it has problems with my MacBook and Apple software. One thing for sure, the standard Apple remote that comes with the computer does not work well in non line of sight applications.