Most presenters agree the proper use of a slide deck can dramatically improve the impact of their message on the audience however, using them can also present several technical challenges.
When it comes to effectively addressing these challenges Louis Pasteur, renowned scientist says it well. “Fortune favors the prepared mind.”
When it comes to advancing slides in a presentation deck you need to plan for:
Slides getting out of order or skipped:
Skipped or out of order slides is far easier to occur than one would think. Even Larry Ellison from Oracle has had it happen. In his OpenWorld keynote he reported, “Toward the end of (my) presentation….one of (my) slides had been deleted and… they were out of order.”
Device failure:
While device failure is rare, it can spell disaster for a presentation. The blank “blue screen of death” forces the audience to awkwardly wait while your support team scrambles to setup another computer and wait still longer as a copy of the presentation is cued up to the right slide. All of which make regaining your audience’s attention close to impossible.
Interference when using off-the-shelf clickers:
The larger the room, the more likely it is that wireless interference and distance will prevent the clicker from functioning correctly.
Perhaps you are tempted to think, “That will never happen to me.” Before you dismiss the importance of planning consider the following scenario: at the MacWorld conference in 2007, Steve Jobs’ clicker failed. You can watch the video here and see how he handled the interruption. https://youtu.be/_NNdOy0TJSk
Jobs was clearly prepared mentally for possible technical problems and filled in with a funny story. If, however, the presenter (perhaps yourself) is not quite so confident, we recommend allowing an AV Technician to maintain control of the presentation slide deck to avoid a similar situation.
HB Live Recommends
PerfectCue is a solution which allows the AV Technician to maintain control of all possible technical problems that may arise and navigate them seamlessly minimizing the negative impact on the presentation.
The Tech: Cue Lights
Description:
PerfectCue is a light and sound signaling system. It enables the presenter to send cues to a AV Technician for “next”, “back” and “blank” using a wireless hand-held clicker.
PerfectCue is the choice of top professionals because it works! Here are just a few top speakers who use Cue Lights:
- Al Gore, Former US Vice President
- Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO
- Paul Otellini, Intel CEO
Benefits & Value the Tech Creates:
- Cue light allows an AV Technician to advance slides on behalf of the presenter to prevent mistakes.
- Responsive and reliable with a wide-reaching range that can easily span conference rooms or ballrooms.
- System works even in difficult or complex wireless environments.
- Promotes redundancy between live and back up devices; easy transition if the live device fails.