H Murphy, of Murphy’s Law,
always seems to be lurking around the corner, waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. That casualty could be you!
Always be prepared for anything and everything you can control.
If the computer crashes, projector dies, or sound system goes silent, you must still present your material! There are people in the audience who came to learn something. It’s your presentation and your responsibility they don’t leave disappointed.
Be sure your “trunk” is well equipped for all contingencies. If I’m using slides, I backup my presentation on a USB flash drive. Because I use a mac, my slideshows are made with iWork Keynote software. I export copies to PowerPoint and convert, also, to PDFs. The PDF conversion is done because they work when versions of PowerPoint and Keynote are not the versions on a backup computer.
I also print a copy of my slideshow in Light Table view, which allows me to see a large number of my slides on one piece of paper. More about this in a moment!
If you use slides, I recommend you do the same. If those slides contain bullet points with text, print out a copy with the text large enough you’ll be able to read it. In stressful moments, that text can get very fuzzy!
Having a spare tire is not enough! You must know if the tire is inflated, have a working car jack, and a lug wrench. Even if you have “all that in your trunk” it doesn’t mean you know how to use it and change a tire.
Here’s my real life example: I was presenting to a local Chamber at their monthly luncheon meeting and was on slide number eight of a thirty-six slide presentation. Suddenly the screen went BLANK! My computer was working fine, as, it seemed, was the projector. Because the schedule was tight, there was no time to reboot and see if that would fix the problem.
As a “Plan B” I always print out my slides in Light Table View. This allows me to place thirty-plus, very small images of my slides, on one sheet of paper. Thankfully, I use mostly images in slides rather than text. (This is something you’ll definitely want to investigate in my book and website!) I’m able to look at the image, and know my material well enough, that I can continue the presentation.
However, having the “Spare Tire” and needing to switch to it instantly is not always easy. Luckily, I was able to grab my paper, present the remainder of my presentation, and finish to a thankful round of applause. (It was almost Big Sweat instead of No Sweat!)
My Lesson Learned is obvious. Before going into the desert, practice, just in case of a blowout, changing that tire!
I now practice, not only my presentation, but the “Backup Plan.” Knowing what can happen, and confident I can handle things if Murphy pounces, is a great stress reliever. Follow my lead, and Practice “Plan B,” also!
For reading, and/or listening, this far I’d like to give you a FREE Gift. Go to: https://nosweatpublicspeaking.com/freegift to receive it!
About the Author Fred E. Miller is a speaker, a coach, and author of the book, “No Sweat Public Speaking!” Businesses and individuals hire him because they want to improve their Public Speaking and Presentation Skills. They do this because we perceive really great speakers to be Experts. Perception is reality and we rather deal with Experts.
They also know: Speaking Opportunities are Business Opportunities. Speaking Opportunities are Career Opportunities. Speaking Opportunities are Leadership Opportunities. He shows them how to Develop, Practice, and Deliver ‘Knock Your Socks Off Presentations!’ with – No Sweat!
Fred E. Miller Fred@NoSweatPublicSpeaking.com nosweatpublicspeaking.com Connect/Follow me: FaceBook LinkedIn Twitter 314-517-8772
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