Presentation Venues – what you need to check before you present
It’s so easy when you’re invited to deliver a presentation to forget to check in advance the venue that you are going to be speaking at in terms of the size of the room, the equipment available and the seating for the audience. So here is Presentation Venues – what you need to check before you present.
I witnessed this firsthand recently at a business event. It was a big breakfast style event with 180 people squeezed into a rectangular space.
There were a few sponsor type speakers who in return for sponsoring the event had been offered a 5 to 10 minute speaking slot.
I suspect none of them prior to the event checked the equipment that was going to be available to them, particularly in terms of the screen.
The screen was a big TV on wheels which was fine if you were sitting close to the where the speaker was standing but for the rest of audience (about 80%) the screen wasn’t within their line of view.
So when the speakers used either slides or videos the vast majority of their audience could not see what they were showing and for the videos the audio was just coming out through the screen so difficult to hear for the majority.
If you get the opportunity to speak at an event and you’re planning to use slides to support you then please do check the venue before you put together what you are going to share with the audience.
Here’s what you need to check:
Screen size and positioning – simple question to ask: ‘Will all of those present be able to see what you’ve got on the screen?
And remember just because they can see the screen doesn’t mean they can see your content – if your slides are full of words those that can see the screen might not be able to read all the words – and why put words on a screen unless you want the audience to read them?
And secondly whilst the screen may sound large enough for the audience will the way the audience are seated mean they can still all see the screen?
If in doubt ditch the idea of slides and / or videos. You don’t need them! And having no screen will liberate you as a speaker! If you do use slides check in advance how they will be linked to the screen – will you need to send them to the organiser or can you connect your iPad or tablet and will there be a clicker and how does that link?
Microphone – what sort will it be? Ideally wireless lapel but find out because it could be hand held or in a fixed position. Either way remember the golden rule of event speaking and microphones: ‘If you think you don’t need a microphone you almost certainly do’
Speaking position in relation to audience – this is often linked to the screen position and microphone type – not having a screen using a wireless microphone potentially gives you the freedom to move around which is a great way of keeping the audience focused on you.
Other things to check:
How you will be introduced
How any Q&A will work
And how much time you have for your presentation – most occasional event speakers over run on time – especially when they’ve been allocated 5 or 10 minutes. My advice is to time your practice runs and aim to deliver in 80-85% of the allocated time. So for a 10 minute presentation that’s 8 to 8.5 minutes in practice.
How do you find out all the above? Ask the organisers and/or visit the venue in advance and on the day arrive an hour before the event starts so you can do those final checks and always be ready to drop the slides and / or video at the last minute if the info you’ve been given does not match on the day reality.
If you want help with a key presentation I can be your audience / challenger / catch on Zoom in sessions from 30 – 50 minutes. One session might be all that is needed to sharpen you up ready for your event presentation. Key presentation coaching. You don’t want to waste an event presentation opportunity do you.
Not sure what presentation / speaking help you need then let’s have a free 15 minute Zoom call.
