Imagine you are about to deliver a key piece of information during your presentation and suddenly the screen behind you goes blank- A speaker’s worst nightmare.
To prevent this (including other mishaps like tripping over wires or losing audio) you should set up everything and get ready for your presentation at least 40 minutes beforehand.
Familiarise yourself with the light panels and switches
This way you won’t fumble about trying to figure out which switch does what.
Adjust the lights in the room
See which lighting best complements the clarity of the presentation on screen. Adjust the curtains so the audience will not be distracted by what is outside.
Arrange the seating
Your audience will not change the placement of their chairs, however you need to. This is to ensure your audience gets a clear view of your screen and are not crammed in one area. Chairs which are not needed can be removed.
Ask for a lapel or wireless microphone
Often during presentations, speakers realise that their actions and gestures are limited when there is a fixed microphone given to them. Asking for a wireless microphone will give you the freedom to move about or point to various areas on your screen.
Place your projector
Your projector should not sit on a table in the middle of the room and obstruct your audiences view. Use a platform below your audiences’ line of sight- like a chair or stool to place the projector on.
Familiarise yourself with the projector
Test it out beforehand and find out how it works. This way if you accidentally press a button and the screen goes blank, you won’t panic. It also makes you aware of what its features are and where the wires are kept.
Clean the projector’s lens
This way you won’t be wondering why your image projected is grainy or blurry.
Request for a screen
Don’t settle for tiny screens available in the room. For a large audience, ask for a large matte screen which holds the projected image with clarity for them, all the way to the back. For smaller audiences, lenticular and beaded screens give off a brighter reflection.
Place the screen as high as possible
This way your audience will be looking up, over the persons head in front of them instead of craning their neck to look past them.