equipment will fail. The laptop suddenly display the "Blue Screen of Death". The projector bulb suddenly "pop!" The presentation will suddenly "freeze." It is one thing when these unfortunate events occur while you are in the office or in your hotel room. But, what to do when this happens while you are presenting to your client? While you are in the middle of a training course? While you are talking to hundreds of people in a meeting room?
And, believe me, this will happen to you. It 'happened to me. Twice, I had my laptop "die" during a six hours of training a class in Excel outposts. The lesson I learned: Always use a portable fan that is under my laptop. The fan plugs into a USB port so there is no need for a power cube, and you can purchase a model that folds and fits perfectly in your travel bag. Laptop throw off a lot of heat - especially when used for long periods. Therefore, a portable fan is a "essential" part of my setup equipment.
projectors also get hot and their bulbs has suddenly "pop" or just quietly "die" on you. If I am using the projector, I carry a spare bulb with me; but I do not ever groped to change in mid-presentation - the projector is too hot for that! Often, I will be with the projector of my client on site and I do not expect to have a spare bulb on hand. So if it's my projector or my client, I make sure I know how to access the "sleep button" and look for opportunities to put the projector to sleep during a long presentation. Just as the audience needs a break from time to time, so does the projector
Before we go further, let me share my philosophy on the structure and technology: "It is not a question of if , but it is a question. of when the equipment fails. "And at some point.
What do you do when your equipment fails? How do you respond in this situation? How do you recover and manage to keep the attention and commitment of your public? How do you keep your cool? How do we continue to project a professional presence
first, remember that it is you? - the presenter - who has the knowledge and information that the public wants to hear. they, and the argument that you are presenting are the reasons that people are in the room. your PowerPoint and equipment are tools to help you make your presentation. Do not let failures distract equipment from your message . Do not allow equipment failures to you distances from your audience.
My preference is to continue with my presentation when the power fails. Do not groped to solve the equipment while my audience sitting in their seats. I will call for a short break at a natural point in the presentation. If I can fix quickly, I do it during the break. Otherwise, I go with my backup plan. You must have a backup plan. You must be prepared with various options to continue your preparation. Expect, and plan for the inevitable failure of equipment. Here is a list of the elements that I put in my backup scheduling package. I always travel with:
A backup copy of my presentation on a USB hard drive.
A "Package for CD" copy of my presentation on the USB drive - including all hyperlinks, photos and multimedia files - in case the equipment that I need to borrow or use does not have the same version of PowerPoint that I used to create my presentation.
A clean copy of my flyer - and any document - that can be quickly copied and distributed, if the original copies are lost or if we need extra.
A "3 for 2" prong adapter in case I need to connect my equipment in a 2-pin wall socket ungrounded.
An extension cord 12 feet with at least six "plug-ins" in the event that I need to adjust the position of my projector and laptop.
A USB expansion adapter which can extend at least 3 inches and has at least four doors.
My "clicker" handheld to advance the slides. It connects to a USB port.
A digital clock that is large enough and bright enough for me to see the time in a variety of lighting conditions. I do not want my audience to see me looking at his watch during my presentation.
extra batteries for all my equipment - including my laptop.
The portable fan for my laptop that I referred to in this Article.
Prepare your presentation. Get ready. Prepare the recovery from a failure of premature equipment. The public will support you and respect your professionalism when it continues despite the presentation of equipment failure. Project your professional presence.
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