Important to remember when presenting outside of your regular workplace or venue:

• Bring your own laptop. You might have fonts in your presentation that aren’t loaded on the organization’s laptop.
• Bring your own HDMI cable. You never know if they’re going to be able to find theirs.
• Bring your own remote (and extra batteries) in case they don’t have one or theirs isn’t working/compatible.
• Get there early enough to test your slides in advance, ESPECIALLY if you’re not using your own laptop.
• If you aren’t using your own laptop, have a version of your presentation on a thumb drive or in the cloud in PDF format or save each slide as an image, which embeds your fonts.
• If your slides or tech aren’t working you better be prepared to present without them. ALWAYS.
• Most important tip: Tell the organizer what you need in advance and be there early to make sure it’s all set up the way you need it to be.

What “consequences” am I referring to?

• A presentation that starts late or goes longer than expected
• Which creates an uncomfortable experience for the audience and distracts from your message
• Which means you may not get your points or your content across in the way you intended
• Which means you may not get the results you want (what actions do you want your audience to take?)

If your participants walk away not knowing what to do next, not knowing what actions you want them to take and why, then you need to make adjustments.

I’m typically the one showing up to present, but occasionally I’m the one hosting the presenter through another organization, and I’ve experienced firsthand what it’s like to be on the other side when the presenter isn’t fully prepared.

Have you been the presenter in this situation? Have you been on the other side, working with a presenter that wasn’t prepared enough? Have you experienced these consequences yourself?

Can you use some support on creating and delivering an effective presentation that moves your audience into action? Book a free consultation here!

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