Giving a Speech in Hell
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November 1st, 2015

Giving a Speech in Hell

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Discussion (3)¬

  1. Mélanie Hope says:
    November 18, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    So true! I recently did the opening keynote for a large convention where the “tech” guy didn’t understand anything outside of his setup. No problem, I assured him, I have my presentation on my laptop, a flashdrive, and saved to the cloud. If worst came to worst, I would just bounce around without a PowerPoint. He gave me a blank stare, so I asked if I could set it up myself. He was more than happy to let me. He was running an incompatible ancient version of PowerPoint, so I figured it would be quicker to just plug in my laptop, as the projector had only VGA. I had plenty of time to plug in my clicker, test out a few things, and be ready to rock and roll when the room filled. Everything went beautifully. As I was disconnecting my laptop and reconnecting their projector to their house laptop, the next speaker, who was going to be giving a breakout in the same room, came in with her laptop, which only had HDMI. Even with dual adapters, her laptop would not play nice with their projector. She was freaking out a little. I told her she’d be great, and we had a full 5 minutes – plenty of time. I set up my own projector, which I just so happened to have with me, and my extra long cable so she could set her laptop anywhere she wanted. We had two minutes to spare. She was very thankful, as were the convention staff. I ended up staying afterwords to show them how to use presenter view and fix the aspect ratio on the house projector. For the rest of the three day convention, they came to me for AV advice, lol. You can never be over prepared. And, be generous, for the presentation you save may not be your own – but your reputation lives on.

  2. mikeproductivity says:
    November 2, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    Been there, seen it, experienced it. After 3,500 presentations, I give a room set-up guide to new clients or to new venues. Only 6 times has the room been set-up perfectly. That's why we have to come 1 to 2 hours before the first person arrives. Suggestions: For groups up 10 100, I carry your own BOSE speakers. Have an AB Box (switch box) so yours and another computer/device can both be connected at the same time and with one press of a button, either machine is on the screen. If their projector is less than 3000 ANSI lumens, provide my own. (Also ask how many hours on the lamp. At 1000 hours it is HALF as bright as original but they usually leave them in until the BLOW) Be prepared with up to 60 feet (18 meters) of VGA cable and 2 female to female adapters plugs to ensure you can reach the projector. Carry an multi-tap power cord with surge protection to ensure you won't lose your computer or BOSE system. Finally, carry your own markers as theirs will often be dried out or bullet point (small head = small image) or just 1 to 4 colors. (Suggest a 12 or 18 pack set from the stationary store of chisel point markers) Face it, if we are in HELL, we put ourselves there. The best defence is complete preparedness.