Knowing how to plan effective audiovisual presentations is vitally important for every presenter and every business. You only get one chance to make a good, effective presentation, and that presentation will make a lasting impression (good or bad) on you and your organization. Your professionalism and skills are on display and you want to make sure the impact is positive.
If your presentation is not effective, then you are simply wasting valuable opportunities, time, and money to no avail. This is just as true for a simple sales presentation or training seminar as it is for a large event or conference. Audiovisual equipment such as plasma, projector and screen are essential tools for effective presentations. Properly planning and organizing the team setup for the event is just as important as the event itself. Many events start late or are interrupted because the setup was not organized correctly and did not complete on time. This causes dissatisfaction with the people you are presenting to and gets your event off to a bad start. Sure you can apologize, but they still see you as disorganized or unprofessional.
- It’s important to have or hire the right AV equipment (and stage and lighting if necessary) to aid in the presentation and impact of the event you’re planning, and to make sure it’s suitable for the size of your audience (whether it’s a person or hundreds of people), there are some basic rules to follow.
- Use professional AV equipment – ​​You should always use professional equipment to project a professional image. For example, if you use a projector, you must also use a suitable projector screen or projection surface. Projecting onto the walls often detracts from the quality of the presentation and detracts from the professionalism of the presenter and the power or impact of the presentation.
- Keep everything simple so you can focus on giving the presentation. If you’re messing with technology during your presentation, it will be less effective.
- Planning the details of your event or presentation is crucial to the success of any event. Don’t leave anything to chance or trust the common sense of others, this is the first rule because common sense is no longer a common practice.
- Know or learn your topic or material and rehearse the presentation – this will give you confidence during the presentation and increase your personal effectiveness when presenting or speaking in public.
- Remember that most presenters are on their feet to get their audience’s full attention. This can be uncomfortable. It is best to move from time to time and try to wear comfortable shoes.
- Organize your technology properly: You don’t want to fiddle with technology while speaking or presenting. It will distract you and the audience. It’s extremely helpful to be able to direct your audience’s attention to a particular point on your screen to refocus their concentration occasionally. You can tackle both with a small and simple integrated remote (all in one) and a laser pointer is a plug and play device that plugs into your laptop. It will allow you to start and stop the presentation and move the slides back and forth from any position in the room and its laser pointer can be aimed at the screen from anywhere.
Have you organized all the necessary AV equipment and display equipment? I have seen many events ruined because a small detail was assumed to have been done or was overlooked entirely. Many times an executive will ask an assistant to hire a data projector for a presentation. Then the wizard will organize just that. When the executive is ready to give the presentation, there is no proper screen or wall to project on. Neither has thought of other possible requirements such as:
- Setup Coordination: Will everyone and all of the required equipment be present at the same time for setup before your presentation or event? Or have you overlooked something? There are logical steps involved here that, if not followed, could end in disaster. These are some of the things to keep in mind.
- What size audience are you presenting to? Do you have the right equipment? Will the presentation be in ambient light or in a dark room? This is important for the size of the screen and the power of the projector.
- Is the PA system loud enough for the size of the audience?
- If you are using a projector, then what size and attributes of the projector are suitable: The projector you use should be suitable for the size of the audience you are presenting to, as well as the format of the material you are presenting. For example, if you’re using a standard PowerPoint presentation or computer files, an 800 x 600 projector is usually sufficient. If you’re projecting a widescreen video, for example, you’ll need a projector that projects widescreen, otherwise you won’t be able to see the full image.
Day Coordinator: Unless you hire a day coordinator, you must also take on the additional responsibilities of properly coordinating the event. This includes arranging for all responsible equipment and individuals to be on site before the designated installation time and for you to be there first to supervise the installation. This is particularly important when multiple vendors are used to supply equipment. If any equipment is not there, the setup and your presentation or event may be delayed. To properly plan, organize and coordinate AV equipment and venue to avoid trouble! Please pay attention to the following points for configuration;
- Where will the projector and/or presentation equipment be located? And will there be a safe power source in that position ready at the designated setup time? This is especially important for projectors, as they are typically mounted in the center of the room. You may need to plan for extension and safety cables. If there is no power supply ready for installation, it can cost you more money than you were quoted for the installation and also delay your start time.
- What are you going to place your AV equipment and projector on? If you don’t have a suitable surface (portable or mobile) to place the projector and equipment, you may not be able to place the projector an adequate distance from the screen or wall for your presentation. Using a proper mobile AV cart is obviously better than a table to adjust the distance.
- Do you need mobility to walk? Most presenters are on their feet during their presentation and need to move while presenting. Using an integrated remote control and laser pointer will give you mobility and better control of your presentation.
- If you are using a projector, what size screen will you need? Making sure you have the correct size screen is also essential. If the screen is too small for people in the audience to see, then the presentation is doomed. The best thing to do with screens is to hire them. That way, whether you need a small projector screen or even a large or giant screen, you can get the right screen for the size of the event. Once you know the details of your event you will be able to know more about how to choose a data projector [http://www.ezehire.com/au/rental/data_projector_hire.html].
- Do you have written notes that you need to refer to? If so, you should consider hiring a lectern, also known as a podium. Leasing a music stand lends formality and authority to any event, even though its primary function is to hold notes and a microphone.
- Want to record your presentation for future use on your training website? Most people who don’t record their presentations wish they had. Making a video of your presentation can be used for future training, online presentation to study and make adjustments to the future presentation. If you do, then you need to own or rent a digital video camera and have a person or day coordinator to operate it.
- Would your presentation and your audience’s understanding improve if you wrote things by hand along with your AV presentation? If so, there are three options for this: – You can use one or two flipcharts adjacent to the screen to write and let the audience take notes. – You could have a blackboard to write notes. – Use an interactive electronic whiteboard that will immediately print your handwritten notes for later consultation, use and dissemination among the audience. That way, you can write additional messages that aren’t in the presentation material for your audience to read.
- Will everyone be able to hear you? Do you need an additional PA system, microphone or speakers if your room is large and you are speaking to a larger audience? If you must use a wall, avoid glossy or shiny painted surfaces that reflect light.
- Have you ordered all the accessories and input devices you need? Laptop, AV cart, integrated remote control and laser pointer, projector screen, DVD player, flip chart, podium or lectern would be your presentation. Many people fail to plan properly. Not planning is planning to fail.
- And is all the equipment compatible? For example, if you are using more than one input device source, such as VGA, XGA, S-VIDEO DVI USB1 or USB2 or a USB stick, you must ensure that the devices have the correct ports in order to connect them together. and get the signal to the projector.
- Can you connect all the devices or do you need help? If you don’t know exactly how to set up your AV equipment or have questions, don’t risk it. Get professional help and pay someone to set it up for you. Most AV rental companies and hotels have IT staff that can help you. Otherwise, you may end up very embarrassed and ruin your presentation. Worse still, if you screw up the presentation, you call someone and they charge you extra fees on top of everything and then you have to explain it to your boss.
- Who to call if something goes wrong with the AV equipment? If you have a tech-savvy person in your office, see if they can be at the event on standby in case something technical goes wrong and could ruin your presentation. If you are renting your AV equipment and it is a large event, ask the rental company if you can also hire the services of a technically experienced day coordinator to set up and take care of all your AV and IT equipment for the day. Your event will run smoothly and you will have the confidence of having someone to address any issues and help you with the event.
other tips
- Always have water on hand when you are filing. Your throat can get very dry when speaking in public, so you need to stay hydrated.
- dress for the occasion
- Take a break every two hours or so and give the audience a chance to cool down.
