Why Should You Use Presentation Technology?
By Dave Paradi, MBA, co-author of "Guide to PowerPoint"

If you have been using overhead transparencies or 35mm slides for years, you may wonder if there is any good reason to start using presentation technology such as laptops, data projectors, remote controls and presentation software. After all, why change when it still works. And all that technology is pretty complicated, isn’t it. And doesn’t it break down at just the wrong time.

Let me suggest that there are a number of good reasons why presentation technology should become a larger part of your speaking or training business.

  1. It gives you a very professional image.

    2. The better overall image you project to the audience, the more credibility they give to your message and the greater impact you can make.
  2. The message is consistent.

    3. If your presentation is delivered more than once, by different presenters or by one presenter at different times, presentation technology gives each audience member the same experience each time.
  3. It is easy to change.

    4. You can change the presentation easily, even in the middle of a session if that adds value to the audience experience.
  4. It is not as hard to use as you think it is.

    5. The advances in technology have not only made the projected images much better, but the equipment and software has got much easier to use and easier to carry when travelling.
  5. It increases the ways we can reach our audience.

    6. It is very easy to distribute electronic presentations on the Web, on disk, CD-ROM, via e-mail or even live across the Internet, increasing the number of people you can reach and your sources of revenue.
  6. Your competition is using it.

    7. No matter what topic you speak on, there are some speakers who are already using this technology to impact the audience. If you are perceived to be behind the times, your message will lose credibility and you may start to lose income. One speaker told me recently that their clients were starting to make negative comments about this speaker’s use of overheads when many other speakers were using the technology. This speaker is now having to adopt presentation technology just to stay competitive in the client’s mind.

So how do you start if you don’t use any of this stuff right now? I suggest you start by loading a presentation software package (like Microsoft PowerPoint) on your computer and getting some training on how to design and create presentation slides. Then print them as overheads or slides and use them in your current presentations. This will help you get familiar with the development side of the technology. When you are comfortable with creating your slides in this way, visit a good audio visual company to learn about the data projector and remote control device that will fit your needs. Make sure that you get training on how to use it and how to prevent and deal with the problems that can occur. Then practice, practice, practice until you feel comfortable enough to appear in public using it. Once you start, you won’t believe the increase in the impact your presentations will have with better visual support.

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© MMIII Dave Paradi

Dave Paradi’s Think Outside the Slide™ approach helps presenters get results by showing them how to quickly create effective PowerPoint presentations. He is the co-author of “Guide to PowerPoint”, part of the Prentice Hall Series in Advanced Business Communication. He offers a free PowerPoint e-course, newsletter and articles on his web site at www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.